


Don't call

by LlamaCow



Category: K-pop, SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Enemies to Lovers, Fluff and Angst, Gangs, M/M, References to Drugs, Secret Lovers, Secret Relationship, VERKWAN IS MAIN, what are these gang names srsly, will have fluff and angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-16
Updated: 2019-01-17
Packaged: 2019-05-07 20:58:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 40,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14679372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LlamaCow/pseuds/LlamaCow
Summary: Seventeen members but in three rival gangs. Inspired by their CALL! CALL! CALL! MVOne misunderstanding sets off a series of events that threatens the fragile peace between three rival gangs.Ruby gang: aka Rich Boy gang. Consists of Seungcheol, Mingyu, Soonyoung, and Seungkwan. They like to present themselves as elegant and refined. Having a lot of money is no guarantee for happiness. At least one of them has a secret he doesn't want the others to know.Dangerously handsome Biker gang aka DaeBak: Jihoon, Minghao, Jeonghan, Seokmin, Wonwoo. Somehow everyone is afraid of them, but they might just be somewhat socially awkward.Carrot gang: Jisoo, Hansol, Jun, Chan. Their base is covered in neon light, retro arcade game machines, and a pink phone. Rumor has it they are involved in international drug trafficking and stolen goods.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Normally i'm not a fan of people posting without really posting, like a...place keeper sort of thing. But...I'm doing it anyway, lol. I just figured more people are going to write SVT gang fics now (maybe??), which is fine, but...I just wanted to put my idea out there or something.
> 
> UPDATE: tadaa it's an actual chapter now! Still a mess, but enjoy anyway!

“Let's go out tonight.” Seungcheol, or S.Coups as he was known to most people outside of his family and small group of close friends, said while absentmindedly staring out the window of their hangout.

 

“I have a paper deadline tomorrow.” Mingyu replied, more focused on the game of billiards he was playing.

 

“So? You're here playing games, might as well go out. Just tell the professor you had a family emergency so you couldn't finish it on time. Wouldn't be the first time.”

 

“Did you have anything specific in mind?” Soonyoung asked while he tried making a trick shot.

 

“There's a new club opening tonight. It's called W-8.”

 

“What kind of a name is that? I feel like I've heard about it though.” Soonyoung leaned on this cue stick with his hands. He watched Mingyu miss a shot and was walking around the table trying to find the best angle for his next move when he remembered. “Wait a minute. Isn't it owned by Woozi and his group of misfits? Why would you want to go there? They definitely wouldn't be too happy if we showed up so I...oh I get it. You're in the mood to piss some people off? Okay, let's go. Call Seungkwan too. He'll get pissy if we exclude him.”

 

“I'm not looking to piss anyone off.” Seungcheol answered while he took his phone from the desk and pulled up the contact information of their youngest member. “I just want to see if their hospitality has improved since the last time we went to one of their clubs. Not that their club stayed open long after we- oh hey Seungkwan. Yeah, it's me. We're going out tonight.”

 

<>

 

Jihoon looked down from the window of his private room. He could oversee the dance floor and bar area but was away from all the noise and people. Just the way he liked it. In control from the sidelines. Even if it was opening night. He had spent half his life in clubs, basically grew up in them. His mother never liked it whenever his father would bring him to one of the clubs he owned. Although her concern was most likely more about the business going on in the back and behind the scenes. His father had actually kept him out of most of that, but he wasn't stupid. He knew the clubs were a front.

He became the manager of one of his father's clubs when he was seventeen. One employee had been stupid enough to make fun of him, asking if he could even reach the top of the bar. He never dared to do it again after he'd gotten out of the hospital a few weeks later. In the years that followed Jihoon had pretty much taken over for his father as far as the clubs went. Along the way he had made sure he wasn't surrounded by his father's men only. He felt more comfortable with his closest friends. Minghao had become his second in command when it came to running the clubs; Jeonghan always knew how to give customers and business relations alike what they wanted or convince them that what they offered was what they wanted; Wonwoo wasn't really much a club person, but he was always around to offer a fresh perspective or offer words of advise to a stressed out Jihoon; Seokmin was the most loyal friend he could think of and even though Jihoon worried sometimes that Seokmin wasn't fit for this line of work he'd never trade him for anyone in the world.

 

“Don't you think you should come down for a bit? It is opening night after all.”

 

Jihoon turned around to find Jeonghan leaning in the doorway. He looked like he'd just stepped out of a high quality fashion magazine, gorgeous as ever. “Come on. I'll hold your hand if you're scared of all the people trying to compliment you on your awesome new club.”

 

“It's not just my club. Minghao did as much as me. And please don't hold my hand. There are enough rumors about us going around. People think we act like a married couple.”

 

Jeonghan snickered and walked closer. He followed the line of Jihoon's jaw with one of his slender fingers, “What? I'm not good enough for you?”

 

“Babe, no-one can even come close.”

 

“Good. As long as you don't mind me sleeping with other people.”

 

“You're not sleeping with me so go ahead.”

 

It had always been like this between them. Flirting, joking, but nothing more.

 

“Come on. Time to be social.”

 

++

 

After greeting the most important of their business contacts and some of their most influential clientele Jihoon decided he had been social enough. He'd done his job, he could leave the rest of playing the host to Jeonghan and Seokmin. They were more the people person types anyway. He looked around for Jeonghan to tell him he was going up to his office again. He spotted him on the edge of the dance floor. Something about his body language bothered Jihoon and he quickly walked over. He gently tapped his shoulder to get his attention. Jeonghan seemed to have trouble keeping his head up and he looked at him with unfocused eyes. Jihoon reached up to cup his face, “Are you okay, baby? You don't look so good.”

 

Jeonghan tried to reply but his speech was slurred. People who didn't know him like he did might think he was just wasted, but Jihoon knew what Jeonghan was like when he was drunk and this wasn't it. He cursed under his breath and looked around for Seokmin. Luckily he was close by and when their eyes met Seokmin could tell something was wrong and he came right over.

 

“I think Jeonghan's been drugged. Help me get him to the back.”

 

Minghao, who had been at the back together with Wonwoo, nodded and looked at his friends after checking out Jeonghan. “You're right. He's been drugged. Looks like ruffies or something similar.”

 

“Do you want me to call your dad?” Wonwoo asked cautiously, he could tell Jihoon could explode at any moment now.

 

“Do you think I want my dad to know about this? That some shit like this happens in one of our, my, clubs?! On fucking opening night. No, I don't want you to fucking call my dad.” He impatiently ran his hands through his hair and took a breath. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you, Wonwoo. Did any of you see who Jeonghan talked to tonight?”

 

“What do you expect? A list of all the people in the club? He's talked to so many people.” Minghao replied with a snap.

 

“I know that. I meant did any of you see him talking to someone who looked suspicious or handed him something to drink?”

 

“Again. Do you want a list of everybody in there? We don't exactly attract the most innocent of people.”

 

“Just think, all right. You're not helping.”

 

“I...I saw those Ruby kids.” Seokmin interjected.

 

“Who? Oh you mean the rich boys?” Jihoon hadn't expected those idiots to show up tonight, but then again, they always did whatever they felt like. “And?”

 

“Well, I saw at least two of them talking to Hannie. The muscular one and the tall one whose dad owns those private hospitals.”

 

S.coups and Mingyu. Jihoon knew who he was talking about.

 

“I only saw them talking and I didn't think too much of it. I know there's been trouble in the past but Jeonghan looked like he was handling it. I guess it is a bit weird they showed up tonight.”

 

“Drugging people to get what they want does sound a bit like an entitled rich boy move...” Minghao thought out loud.

 

Jihoon took a moment to think.

 

“I really don't like those rich boys, but I just don't see them do it. Drugging people isn't their style. They like the people they pull shit on to actually be aware of it. Besides, if it was sex they were after, and with Jeonghan it's usually sex what people are after, I'm pretty sure those two wouldn't need to drug him to get it.”

 

Minghao scoffed, “Well, that's true. Pretty sure he already did it with at least one of them.”

 

“Did anyone see anything else?”

 

“Well,” Seokmin hesitated, “I saw Carrot gang. The small one was talking with Jeonghan and he seemed a bit...annoyed.”

 

“Dammit Seokmin, you basically saw all of our rivals in here tonight and you didn't think it was a good idea to tell one of us?” Minghao raised his voice and took a step in his direction.

 

“I...things had been okay lately. I wasn't even sure if we still really had a problem with any of them!”

 

“We do when they just decide to walk in on our turf without good reason! Wouldn't be the first time those assholes tried to take something that belongs to us.”

 

“Today at the library...” Wonwoo interrupted their fight with a small voice, “That Joshua one...or Jisoo I think his real name is, anyway, he came up to me and said he'd heard about the club opening and he said he was sure it was going to be a night to remember. I didn't think much of it, but now...”

 

Jihoon could feel his anger rising and he started pacing the room trying to keep a level head. “Wonwoo, Seokmin, take Jeonghan to the apartment upstairs. Make sure he's okay. Hao, go check if any of that ridiculously named Carrot gang are still at the club right now. Bring those fuckers to me if they are. They won't get away with this.”

 

“Do you really think they did it?”

 

“I'm sure of it.”

 

<>

 

“What a great idea to go refill our supply of very expensive booze, Shua!” Hansol lifted a half-empty bottle of overpriced alcohol with his one hand while gesturing to the bottles that were proudly displayed on their coffee table with the other. He took took a gulp straight from the bottle before passing it to Chan.

 

“Don't drink it all in one night though. Especially you, Chan.”

 

The youngest rolled his eyes as he handed the bottle to Jisoo after taking a sip.

 

“Guys, guys.” Jun, wheezing because of laughing too hard, said “I also took this lamp in the shape of a flamingo.” Sure enough he proudly held up a flamingo-shaped lamp.

 

For a moment the room went quiet as they stared at the lamp. The flamingo even had a little crown on his head. The next moment they all bend over dying of laughter.

 

Hansol wiped a tear from his eye, “I stole a bottle of wine that could probably pay for my groceries for a few months and you took a flamingo lamp?! That's amazing.”

 

“I just figured, booze doesn't last, but who knows how long we can enjoy this lamp.”

 

Jun got up, a bit wobbly, placed the lamp carefully on the table next to their neon phone and plugged it in. He nodded proudly. He felt Jisoo wrap an arm around his shoulder, “It's perfect. I'd call this outing a success.”

 

“Did we have to leave so soon though? I know we weren't exactly on friendly grounds, but we were barely there before you dragged us away again.” Jun questioned.

 

“I noticed some shit was happening with one of them and I didn't want to stick around for that drama. Besides, the Rubies were there too I noticed. I get enough of those smug faces at college.”

 

“Do you think he was okay?” Jun asked.

 

“Are we supposed to care?”

 

“Don't be mean, Chan.” Jisoo reprimanded the youngest.

 

He scoffed and shook his head, “You know they wouldn't give two shits if one of us got drugged or anything right? Why should we be bothered?” He leaned back into the couch and stared at nothing in particular. “His friends got him before whoever drugged him could do something else to him. He'll be fine.”

 

Joshua nodded. “Yeah, probably.”

 

Hansol felt his phone buzz. Luckily for him the rest of his friends were focusing on other things or they might have seen the smirk that appeared on his face when he saw the message.

 

< _Did you leave?_ _>_

 

_ <Yeah, sorry. Had to go. Miss me?>_

 

_< As if. Just thought we could finish what we started in the bathroom earlier, but whatever. Your loss>_

 

_ <A loss harshly felt by my horniness. Talk to you later, not Boo Seungkwan>_

 

_< STOP USING MY NAME!!> _

 

_< DON'T CONTACT ME AGAIN!!>_

 

_< EVER!!>_

 

Hansol chuckled. He decided not to point out that it had been Seungkwan who had contacted him, not the other way around. This had been a pretty good night.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeonghan tries to remember the night before, Seungkwan is stressed (what else is new), and Jisoo has to deal with shit happening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, it took me only a month or so to update....lol. I have a lot of Boo Seungkwan feels atm...(I mean...I always do, but...he's just...so cute? And funny? I want to adopt him? Please? Also, Vernon's current hair color makes him look like my son).

The next day when Jeonghan woke up his body felt heavy and his head fuzzy. Had he really drunken that much? It took him a moment to realize where he was, but he soon recognized the room as the apartment above the club where Minghao lived. It took him another moment to become aware of the warm body next to him. He looked over and saw none-other than Minghao himself sleeping next to him peacefully. It was almost funny how sweet he looked sleeping. Jeonghan slowly sat up and groaned. He had known better days.

 

“You're awake!” Seokmin immediately got up from the floor, where he had been sleeping, and made his way to the bedside. “How are you feeling?”

 

“A bit woozy, actually. What the hell did I drink last night? How did I end up in bed with Hao?”

 

“Well, Wonwoo is on the couch and he refused to sleep on the floor like I did.”

 

“Okay, but why are we all here in the first place? Where is Jihoon?”

 

“Oh! That reminds me! He told me to call him as soon as you woke up. I'll be right back!”

 

“Stop being loud.” groaned a groggy Minghao. He opened his eyes and saw someone staring it him. He was suddenly wide awake when he realized it was a confused Jeonghan staring at him and he sat up. “Do you remember last night?”

 

“I...” Jeonghan tried to recall the night before but he realized there were a lot of gaps and blurs. It was an unsettling feeling. “Seriously, I don't remember drinking that much.”

 

“You didn't. You were drugged, man.”

 

“Oh...shit. By whom?”

 

“We're not sure. Do you remember anything?”

 

“Ehm, I don't know.” He tried again to recall last night, but the more he couldn't the more it stressed him out and his mind went blank, “I...did you guys find me before...like...anything...”

 

“Yeah, don't worry. Whoever drugged you didn't get to you.” Minghao sweetly stroked his friend's hair, “If they had and they'd done anything to you I would have killed them.”

 

Jeonghan chuckled, “Knowing you, you might actually would have.” He smiled softly at this friend, “Thanks.”

 

Minghao nodded before his attention was drawn to the silent figure that now stood next to the bed. Wonwoo, who had entered the room in complete silence, stood there holding a large glass of water. He handed it to Jeonghan. “Here. Don't try to force yourself to remember too much right away. Have some water. Wait for Jihoon to get here. We'll talk then.”

 

About fifteen minutes later they heard the sound of Jihoon's motorcycle pulling up outside. Jeonghan, and Seokmin sat around the coffee table in the living room. Wonwoo moved to open the door to let their leader in. The small man took of his jacket and hung it over the back of a chair. He walked over to Jeonghan and looked him over. “You look okay. How are you feeling?”

 

Jeonghan shrugged, “Confused mostly, but not bad. You look like you haven't had much sleep.”

 

“Yeah, thanks.” He looked around and found they were missing one person. “Where's Hao? I'd like to talk about last night.”

 

“He's still in the shower, but he said we could start without him. Unless some important information was revealed. Or unless we'd make any decisions. Or unless you brought snacks.”

 

Jihoon shook his head. “The thing is. I'm already pretty convinced who was behind this, but I want to hear what you remember yourself, Jeonghan. Without any of us planting ideas in your head. So,” he sat down in the chair opposite the couch Jeonghan was sitting on, “What do you remember?”

 

Jeonghan sank back into the couch and closed his eyes, “I...I remember the start of the evening. I remember greeting the first guests. Nothing unusual. I remember talking to you in your office. I remember going back down again and talking to more people. I...I showed the Rubies, those idiots, to a private booth. Although I think one of them wasn't there or maybe he joined later, I don't really remember. I also talked to Chan.”

 

“Who?” Jihoon asked.

 

“Chan. That small one from the Carrots. Maybe you know him as Dino.”

 

“Why did he talk to you?” This was the information Jihoon wanted, what he had expected, really.

 

“I...I think I talked to him first. He's so adorable. I want to adopt him. I always tease him because I know it bothers him.”

 

Jihoon's mouth twitch involuntarily at the thought of his friend talking so endearingly about such a low-life, “Did he seem upset by this?”

 

“Not more than usual. I think...I...” Jeonghan sighed. He opened his eyes and sat up straight again, “I don't remember, okay. I know I talked to him, but I don't remember the actual conversation. I think I made a joke about how babies shouldn't be allowed to drink and I might have taken his drink from him or he gave it to me or something.”

 

“Did you talk to any other members of his gang?”

 

“Maybe. I vaguely remember another person there, but I can't recall who it was. It might have been their leader, Joshua. Or someone else. Or I might be mixing up conversations. It's all pretty vague.”

 

“It's clear enough for me.”

 

“What do you mean?” Jihoon seemed to have heard enough to draw a conclusion about last night, but Jeonghan was still confused. In that moment Minghao joined them, hair still damp from the shower.

 

“Did I miss anything?”

 

“Jeonghan was just telling us what he remembers.”

 

“And?”

 

“He doesn't remember much, but if I wasn't already convinced it was those losers who did this, I am definitely convinced now.”

 

“What about the Rubies?” Minghao didn't feel the same level of conviction about it being the work of the Carrot gang as Jihoon did.

 

Jeonghan sighed, “Like I told the others, I just showed them to a private booth. They're assholes but they have money.” He got up from the couch and stretched his arms behind his back, “Look guys, I wish I could remember who it was, but I don't. The fact of the matter is that in our line of work there will always be scumbags. I'm already over it. I'm going to take a shower.” With that he walked away and left the others behind in the living room.

 

“So, that's it?” Minghao asked, mostly directed at Jihoon, “We're just going to let it go?”

 

“He said he doesn't remember much. Maybe it's for the best to let it go. What can we do anyway?” Wonwoo replied, but Jihoon shook his head.

 

“There is no way I'm just going to 'let it go'. This was unacceptable. Someone out there thought it was okay to come into _my_ club and drug one of _my_ people? No way I'm going to let that slide.”

 

“But, we don't even know who did it.” Seokmin said with a soft voice.

 

“Don't we?” Jihoon replied in a calm, but dangerous voice.

 

Minghao clicked his tongue, “I don't know. I know you think you know, but we're not _really_ sure, are we?”

 

Jihoon remained silent after that, but the others could tell he hadn't _let it go_. No, not at all.

 

<>

 

It was a few days after the night they had gone to the club opening. Seungkwan had _not_ enjoyed himself. The music wasn't his style, his friends drank too much, his bathroom hook-up fell through, and in the end all he did was lose time to work on all of his projects, papers, and all the other things he was working on. He had so many extra-curricular activities he had almost forgotten what his major was. The pressure he put on himself was too much sometimes. His friends often reminded him that not even his parents, who were known to put a lot of pressure on their son to succesfully succeed his father as owner of a chain of fancy hotels, needed him to be _this_ picture perfect.

 

Yesterday hadn't been a good day and today wasn't any better. The deadline for the university's newspaper was due in a few hours and he was still waiting on a piece about one of their professors who was awarded some prestigious price for his research and a few fluff pieces. Normally, as editor, he would be far more on top of his writers when a deadline was approaching, but he had been swamped and it didn't help he was busy having a secret affair that he tried to hide from all of his friends. As soon as he saw the person he had been waiting for enter the workroom he stormed over to him.

 

“Hong! Where have you been? You do know the deadline is in a few _hours_ right? I need time to go over whatever you wrote to make sure it's on par with this paper's standards.”

 

“Relax, Seungkwan. I have it right here. And, like always, I'm sure it's 'on par with this paper's standards'.” By now, Jisoo was used to the editor's outbursts, but that didn't make it more fun to deal with.

 

Seungkwan ripped the papers from his hands and glanced over them real quick. He felt his stress levels going through the roof. “Are you kidding? What is this? Where is the article about professor Kim?”

 

Jisoo looked at him confused, “Professor Kim? The deadline for that is not until next week!”

 

“Are you stupid? He's getting his reward tomorrow, why would we write about him _next_ week? This is great. Just great. Can't you do anything right? Maybe you should spend less time with your druggy-good-for-nothing-loser-friends hanging around in clubs.”  
  


“I mistook the deadline, I'm sorry. I know you're stressed, but I don't appreciate you insulting my friends, Seungkwan. I already started the article, I'll finish it and get it to you before the deadline, okay?”

 

“No. No, nevermind. Just leave. I'll do it myself.”

 

“Why? I said I'll finish it in time. Why do you always have to be so-” Before he could finish what he was about to say he was interrupted by someone walking passed him to get to Seungkwan. He bumped Jisoo out of the way with his shoulder in the process.

 

“Sup, Boo. You want to have lunch?” Seungcheol asked Seungkwan, completely ignoring the other man in the room.

  
“I can't. Because _certain people_ ” He shot a foul look in Jisoo's direction, “insist on making my life even more stressful than it already is.”

 

“Oh yeah? That's not very nice of them.” Seungcheol directed his gaze toward Joshua and looked him up and down. “Don't you think you should leave? You're upsetting my friend. I don't like people who upset my friends.”

 

“He's the one upsetting himself, really.” Jisoo shot back.

 

The taller man got closer, “Excuse me?”

 

Jisoo swallowed. He wasn't exactly afraid of him, but he was very well aware that the man he knew as S.Coups was more powerful than him, in several ways and it was probably for the best not to provoke him in a one-on-one situation. “I just meant that I made a mistake that I'm totally willing to rectify, but he insists on doing it himself.”

 

“If Seungkwan said he's going to do it himself, why are you still here? Get lost, pretty boy. He clearly doesn't need your help.”

 

Jisoo decided not to argue with either one of them and left.

 

“You and your thirst can go too.” Seungkwan said to his friend, “You're distracting me and it's giving me stress.”

 

“My thirst? What the fuck are you talking about?”

 

“I'm talking about your _obvious_ yearnings for 'pretty boy' just now. Pretty is clearly your type, I saw you ogling that guy who showed us to our booth at the club yesterday, too. Really, Cheol.”

 

“Wha-, I didn't _oggle_ anyone! And I don't have _yearnings_ either! Especially not for anyone from another gang, man!”

 

“That's all very interesting, but I don't care who you want to sleep with. Please go now and let me work!” He started pushing Seungcheol out of the room, but before he was completely out the door Seungcheol stopped him.

 

“I'll go, but you seem more stressed out than usual. Are you okay?”

 

“Everything is just annoying today. Nothing is going the way I want and I have about a million things I need to do. So just leave me alone and I'll be fine.”

 

“All right. Come hang out later, yeah? Mingyu has discovered he likes Mexican food now and he's making tacos.”

 

Seungkwan nodded his head and waved with the back of his hand as he sat down at his desk. He looked at his phone one last time before getting to work. No messages. Well, no messages from the person he secretly wanted messages from. He clicked his tongue in annoyance, put his phone face-down on the desk and started working.

 

<>

 

The following day Jun, Chan, and Hansol were busy with a Ms. Pacman tournament (one of the many classic arcade game machines they had collected in their hangout over the years) when Jisoo came in. He stood in the doorway for a few moments before the others noticed him. As soon as they did they stopped playing. Something was wrong.

 

“Shua?” Chan asked carefully. “Are you okay? You don't look so good, man.”

 

Jun walked closer and examined his face, “Are you sick?”

 

Jisoo blinked a few times as if he needed some time to figure out what to say, “I...I got expelled.”

 

“What!?” They asked almost in unison. “What are you talking about?” Hansol asked.

 

Jisoo walked over to the couch and sat down, the others gathered around him. “I was called into the headmaster's office this morning. I was told 'certain things' about me had been brought to their attention and they were forced to terminate my enrollment. Effective immediately.”

 

“Things? What things?”

 

“They said they had proof of me selling drugs to other students.”

 

“That's a lie!” Chan said angrily. “ _You_ have never sold drugs to anyone!”

 

“Did they show you the proof?” Jun asked in a calmer manner.

 

Jisoo shook his head.

 

“Of course they didn't,” Chan continued, “they don't have any because he never sold any drugs!”

 

Jisoo buried his head in his hands, “It was so humiliating. They escorted me off the premises with everyone watching. S.Coups, the Ruby leader, was just staring at me with a stupid smirk on his face like watching my life being ruined was just something entertaining for him...” He looked up, his eyes wet, “I...I'm so sorry guys.”

 

The university Jisoo went to was one of the top universities of the country and it hadn't been easy getting in. Especially considering how high the tuition was. Even with the scholarship he had gotten he had to work two part-time jobs to make it work. It was the same one all the rich kids attended, although their parents could easily afford it. Jisoo was the only one of their group who was attending such a top-class educational institute. Sure, Vernon was enrolled in the local community college but he barely attended any of his classes, Jun had decided not to go to college after high school, and Chan got kicked out of school last year. They had all been so proud when Jisoo had gotten his acceptance letter. He was supposed to be the one to really make it, to break away from the life they were leading now. Even if Jisoo himself was very grateful for his life, he felt the others were looking at him to show them they were capable of making something of themselves.

 

“Don't apologize! You did nothing wrong!” Chan shouted again.

 

“Chan's right! We can fight this! They have nothing on you!” Jun agreed.

 

Jisoo sighed, “There's no point. Do you really think I'll have my scholarship after this? Even if I did, fighting something like this will probably take a lot of time and I'll fail this semesters classes. I'd have to redo everything and my scholarship wouldn't last that long. I can't afford it on my own...”

 

“Fuck those Rubies!” Hansol stood up, his blood was boiling. “Who the hell do they think they are? What makes them so great that they get to use their money and power to ruin other peoples lives? I'm going to...I don't know yet, but I'm going to do something!”

 

“Hansol, please! I'm not even sure one of them had anything to do with it!”

 

“You're kidding, right? Of course it was them! You told us yesterday how you had a fight with S.coups and B-...and Seungkwan. S.coups was _enjoying_ watching you getting kicked out. They always do shit like this. They see something or someone they don't like and they just...ruin it. Just because they can.”

 

“Yesterday wasn't a _fight_. It was...Boo Seungkwan being Boo Seungkwan. He's always stressed about something. I only had to be around him for the newspaper, but damn...” A weak smile appeared on his face, “At least I don't have to deal with that drama anymore I guess.”

 

“No, fuck that. This is fucked up.” Hansol grabbed his jacket from the place on the floor where he had thrown it down and walked out the door, slamming it shut.

 

“Should we go after him?” Jun asked.

 

“Nah, just let him cool down. He's probably just going for a ride on his bike.” Chan replied.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> +What kind of gangs are these anyway...lol, idek.  
> +He feels a bit /woozy/ *laughs at own lame joke*  
> +Mingyu is making tacos!?  
> +Wonwoo also goes to the fancy rich people university btw (thanks to Woozi and his shady money)  
> +I have a mosquito bite and it itches like crazy and it's driving me crazy
> 
> Next time will be Verkwan heavy! We'll learn all about their secret affair (that doesn't exist if you'd ask Seungkwan)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The story about how Hansol and Seungkwan started a secret affaire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow...don't get used to me updating this fast (I wish I could promise fast updates, but...I'm kinda flaky). This chapter is basically ALL Verkwan! It turned out a lot longer than I thought it would...please enjoy~

It was on a Wednesday afternoon that Hansol had seen Boo Seungkwan walking in a part of town he never would have expected a rich boy like him to be in. _His_ part of town. Of course he knew who Boo Seungkwan was. His father owned a string of luxurious hotels and Seungkwan was set to follow in his father's footsteps. He mostly hung out with his rich buddies. They were widely known as 'the Rubies'. He remembered the first night he'd seen him. It was at a house party that had gotten out of hand. Not in the last place because most of them had been minors at the time and there was a large variety of alcoholic beverages available. It was the first time the three gangs had gotten into an actual fist fight. It was the weirdest thing considering the fight had started with Wonwoo and Jun, both usually quiet and reserved. It all escalated completely when a drink was accidentally spilled on S.Coups’s new jacket.

 

Hansol doesn't remember too much from that night a few years ago, but he remembers seeing Boo Seungkwan there. Keeping to the sidelines, yelling about how uncivilized they were and complaining about the mess they created, it wasn't even his house. He wasn't sure why, but something about him stuck with Hansol. Boo Seungkwan was...interesting.

 

And now there he was. Walking through the bad part of town with a baseball cap on, probably trying not to be recognized or stand out too much. Hansol had just finished his shift at the garage he worked at and had nothing else to do, so he decided to try his luck. He crossed the street and started to walk next to him.

 

“Are you lost?”

 

Seungkwan, startled by the sudden appearance of another person next to him, let out a small yelp and stopped walking for a moment before he recognized the face. Great. One of those Carrots. The handsome one. What did _he_ want. “I am not lost and I don't want any of your drugs.” Seungkwan resumed his fast-paced walk and tried to ignore him.

 

Hansol laughed. Normally he would be offended but somehow with him, he could only laugh, “Good. I don't have any. I mean, I could probably get you some if you wanted. Anyway,” he increased his own pace to match Seungkwan's, “what are you doing here? This doesn't really seem like a place you'd have any business in.”

 

Seungkwan suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Hansol. “Do you think I'm somebody else? Why are you talking to me? I'm just here minding my own business, so just leave me alone. Okay?”

 

Now that he had him face-to-face Hansol smirked in a (what he thought was a) sexy way and wiggled his eyebrows,“Wanna hook up?”

 

“What!?” Seungkwan was so confused. He had only come to this part of town because he knew of a small bakery that made the absolute best scones ever, and now he was getting indecent proposals from a member from another gang. A very handsome and attractive member that Seungkwan might have noticed before, but that wasn't important.

 

“What?” Hansol said innocently, “We're both cute and I'm bored.”

 

Seungkwan snorted. “This bitch just called himself cute.” He mumbled.

 

“What was that?” Hansol asked.

 

Seungkwan sighed in annoyance, “Nothing. Look, Vernon, was it? I don't have time for your jokes. Please leave me alone.”

 

“Aww you know my name, Boo Seungkwan?”

 

The use of his full name sent a soft blush to Seungkwan's cheeks and he cursed himself for it.

 

“And I'm totally _not_ joking by the way. I'm super serious.”

 

Again Seungkwan sighed, “What part about you being in one gang and me in another don't you understand? We don't mix. I don't like you, your friends, your attitude, your weird hairstyle.”

 

“Hey! My hair is not weird!”

 

“Oh please, it's like Moses was trying to guide his people to your scalp!”

 

“No need to get Biblical. I'm just saying...” Slowly Hansol got closer to Seungkwan, so slow he hardly noticed that he was backing him up against the brick wall behind him, “I don't see any gang stuff happening right now. It's been months since any real shit went down. Why can't we have a good time?”

 

Seungkwan scoffed, but he had trouble finding the words needed to flat-out reject him.

 

“I'm a good kisser. Probably.” Hansol continued. Seungkwan now had his back against the wall, but he barely noticed, distracted by the close proximity their bodies were in.

 

“Wow, that sounds so appealing.” Seungkwan tried to keep up his natural sassy and sarcastic attitude, but knew he was failing when his eyes darted over Hansol's lips. He decided that he had to leave _now_ or he would do something he was going to regret. He tried to walk away, but Hansol stopped him. He was blocking his path with his arms on either side of the smaller boy, trapping him between Hansol and the brick wall.

 

“What are you doing? Are you trying to _start_ some shit?”

 

“It's just that...something about that cute innocent face of yours makes me want to do not so innocent stuff to you.” Vernon hadn't lost his smirk and he bit his lip as he was looking at Seungkwan. Waiting for him to respond.

 

“That's...very creepy.” But dammit it was working. Seungkwan didn't attempt to walk away again, he wasn't sure he wanted to now. He just stayed there, back against the wall. With every second he stayed he felt his self-control walking away from him instead. Even when Hansol lowered his arms he didn't move. Hansol raised one hand again to take off Seungkwan's cap. Their eyes met and he leaned in, connecting their lips. The kiss traveled through Seungkwan's whole body. He felt it in his stomach and his legs. Yep, he was definitely going to do something stupid now.

 

Hansol pulled back and stared at Seungkwan, who looked like he was deep in thought. For a second he wasn't sure how he was going to react. But then Seungkwan grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him with him, “All right, come on. Hurry up. I can't have people seeing us together. My car is nearby.”

 

“You brought your fancy car to this neighborhood? It's probably gone by now.”

 

“Do you think I'm stupid? Of course I didn't.”

 

After about two minutes of Seungkwan pulling Hansol along they got to an almost empty parking lot surrounded by a fence. Seungkwan let go of the other man's hand to pull out a set of keys and open the gate. He walked over to a dingy looking car and opened the door. Before he got in the driver's seat he turned to look at Hansol, who had a confused look on his face, “Well? Hurry up and get in before I change my mind.”

 

The car ride was silent. Both of them seemed afraid to say something that would have the other one come to his senses. Finally, they arrived at a building, just outside town, that seemed to be under construction. Seungkwan parked the car and turned off the engine.

 

“Where are we?” Hansol asked.

 

“It's my father's newest hotel. As you can see, it's not quite ready yet, but most of the interior is done. Plenty of rooms to use.”

 

“Wow, cool. I thought we were just gonna do it in the car. Are we going to break in?”

 

Seungkwan sighed, “Of course not. Now come on.” He got out of the car and Hansol followed. They went in through the back entrance. Seungkwan had the keys. It was dark and smelled of paint, but Seungkwan seemed to know his way around. He went into a room that said 'office - personnel only' and told Hansol to wait. He came back out with a room-key and he led them to a room at the back of a hallway on the second floor.

 

He closed the door and placed his bag in the corner next to it. Seungkwan suddenly felt very aware of why they had come here. He normally wasn't this impulsive. Before he could turn around he felt Hansol's hand, gently being placed on his hip. He shivered a little when he felt a soft kiss in his neck. Seungkwan turned around and for a few seconds they just stared at each other. The next moment he was pressed against the door with Hansol's hungry lips on his own.

 

“V-vernon?” Seungkwan managed to get out amidst the entanglement of tongues. Immediately Hansol stopped, “Yeah?”

 

“We can't tell anyone about this.”

 

“Okay.” He leaned back in, but Seungkwan stopped him.

 

“I'm serious. You can't tell _anyone_.”

 

“O-kay. I get it. Can I continue with the kissing now?”

 

Seungkwan nodded.

 

“Oh, and...” Hansol said in between kissed, “call me Hansol when we're alone.”

 

“Why? Is that a weird roleplay thing?”

 

Hansol chuckled, “No. It's my name.”

 

“Oh.”

 

Seungkwan's 'oh' was the last word spoken for a while. That is, if you don't count the moaning of names and other sounds of sex. They soon moved away from the door. Clothes came off and the neatly made bed became a mess.

 

++

 

The room was silent again. They were both on top of the bed, only half-covered by the sheets, sweaty and naked.

 

“Well, Boo...” Hansol broke the silence, “I got to say. You sure know how to use your mouth for other things than just talking and telling people what to do.”

 

Seungkwan wrinkled up his nose, “Oh my god, shut up. And did you have to use my _full name_ while we were doing it?”

 

Hansol let out a small chuckle that was way cuter than Seungkwan would ever admit it was, “You know you enjoyed it. Boo Seungkwan.” He turned on his side and smiled at him, “Just like I enjoyed you calling me Hansol.”

 

“Do you want a scone?” Seungkwan asked in a quick attempt to change the subject. He got up from the bed, ignoring the fact he was naked, and walked over to his bag by the door.

 

Hansol followed him with his eyes, “Eh, sure, I guess.”

 

Seungkwan returned to the bed with his bakery box of scones and opened it to offer one to Hansol. He took one and took a bite that was almost too big for his mouth. As soon as Seungkwan closed the box, exposing the bakery's logo, he sent crumbs flying across the bed by exclaiming: “Hey, I know this bakery! It's pretty close to my house.”

 

“Please don't talk with your mouth full.”

 

“Wait a minute,' Hansol's eyes narrowed and he glared at Seungkwan, “You didn't come to my neighborhood just for a _scone_ , did you?”

 

“What if I did?”

 

“You came to what might be the worst neighborhood of the whole city for a _scone_!?”

 

Seungkwan just shrugged his shoulders sheepishly.

 

After Hansol was done laughing, he looked at Seungkwan again. “Can I ask you something?”

 

“If I say no will you listen?”

 

“...”

 

Seungkwan made a gesture with his hand telling Hansol to 'go ahead'.

 

“Why would you bother coming all the way to my neighborhood for a scone? Even if you really wanted one, why would you come yourself? It's not exactly the safest place. Why not just send like...one of your people?”

 

Seungkwan thought for a moment about what to answer. “I dunno...I just like going there by myself. I don't like relying on 'people' all the time or make them do random stuff for me. My dad does shit like that all the time. Like, he makes people do things that are totally not part of their job.”

 

“Do you not get along with your dad?”

 

Seungkwan was about to open up about the strained relationship he had with his father when he remembered just who he was talking to. “You know what? I think we're done here. Finish your scone and get dressed. I'll drop you off in the proximity of your neighborhood. And then we forget this ever happened.”

 

They both got dressed. Hansol waited for Seungkwan as he made the bed (according to Seungkwan the sheets would be changed before the opening of the hotel since this had been a room dressed up to give an idea of the hotel's atmosphere and not a finished product, but they might start asking questions about a messy bed.). Seungkwan returned the room-key to the office, locked all the doors, and walked back to his car together with Hansol.

 

The car ride back to Hansol's neighborhood was just as quiet as the ride to the hotel had been.

 

“Is this close enough?” Seungkwan asked when he stopped the cars a few blocks away from where he had previously parked his car.

 

Hansol nodded, “Yeah, this is fine, thanks.” He took off his seat-belt but didn't move to get out of the car yet. “Can I have your phone number, Boo Seungkwan?”

 

“No.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“There is absolutely no reason for you to have my phone number.”

 

“What if I want a repeat of what just happened?”

 

“Nothing just happened. We were never together. Ergo, you won't need my phone number.”

 

“Fine. I can always just call your house or your dad's office. Or ask again in front of all of your obnoxious friends.”

 

“You wouldn't!”

 

“Wouldn't I?”

 

Seungkwan sighed and caved. He wrote his number down and handed it to a gleeful Vernon. “Don't save it with my name. Don't call me. Ever.”

 

<>

 

Hansol didn't call. But he did send him messages. Sometimes about their afternoon together. Sometimes about nothing in particular, making Seungkwan wonder if Hansol really did think he was someone else, a friend. Eventually Seungkwan started replying. He told himself it was okay as long as he only _replied_. But one late afternoon Seungkwan was stressed and tired and he couldn't fight the urge to want to see him again. So he sent him a message with the address of a hotel, a room number and 'come now'. In the following months Hansol was introduced to a variety of hotel rooms. Most of them in hotels owned by Seungkwan's father, some of them in others. Seungkwan kept telling himself none of it meant anything. He ignored the fact they started to spend more of their time together doing things that wasn't sex, he ignored the fact that the time Hansol brought him scones was the night before Valentine's, and he ignored Hansol himself whenever he ran into him somewhere. Like the night of the W-8 club opening. Unless they were alone, like they were in the bathroom of aforementioned club. Hansol had walked in just as Seungkwan was washing his hands. As soon as they were the only two people in the bathroom he pushed Seungkwan inside one of the stalls and started kissing him.

 

“No, wait.” Seungkwan said (after a minute or two), “I have to get back to my friends. They'll think I'm sick or something if I stay in the bathroom too long.” With that he left Hansol alone. They didn't meet again that night, seeing Hansol took off after stealing a bunch of booze from the club, but they met a few days later.

 

They had just finished having sex and Seungkwan was in Hansol's arms, his head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. It calmed him down.

 

“Boo?”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“Are we dating?”

 

Seungkwan sat up, a look of disbelieve on his face,“What? No! Of course we're not.”

 

“But...why not?”

 

“Because...this is just physical...it's just...stress relieve. Yeah, that's what it is. That's _all_ it is.”

 

“Oh come on, you know that's not true! Last week when we got together we didn't even have sex! We just lied in bed, watched a movie, and ate snacks!”

 

“That...that was only because there happened to be a movie on that I wanted to see...”

 

“It was on Netflix, Boo.”

 

Seungkwan stayed silent, sitting on the bed staring at his hands. Hansol got close to him and stroked his hair, “I'm just saying...that's something _couples_ do. We do about everything that couples do except _be a couple_.”

 

Seungkwan slapped his hand away, “That's because we're not one. And we will never be. I don't _want_ to be a couple, especially not with someone like _you_.” As soon as he said it and he saw Hansol's face drop he regretted saying it. He didn't even know why he said it.

 

“Someone like me? What the fuck is that supposed to mean, Seungkwan?”

 

“I just meant-” Before he could give voice to his confused thoughts Hansol cut him off.

 

“No you know what. Nevermind. You're right. I don't know what I was thinking.” He got up from the bed and started to put on his clothes.

 

“Hansol, come on. You know we can't be a couple.”

 

“No, Seungkwan, I don't know.” He pulled his shirt over his head and walked to the door. Seungkwan wanted to stop him, but he didn't.

 

He hadn't heard from him since that night. He hadn't sent him any messages either. He was curled up in a comfortable chair in their hangout feeling sorry for himself while the others were playing darts. In the distance he heard the sound of a motorcycle. Hansol had a motorcycle. He had told Seungkwan that he stole it from someone in Woozi's gang about a year ago. One time Seungkwan had taken a ride on the back of it. He had told Hansol he hated it, that the helmet messed up his hair and it was too cold. He hadn't told him how he loved being so close to him and how he felt safe being with him even though the motorcycle ride itself was scary. The sound of the motorcycle had gotten a lot closer. And closer. The front door slammed open when it came crashing through. Luckily none of them were that close to the door, but they only just managed to get out of the way in time before the person driving the bike rode it through the room, leaving a trail of destruction before riding out the door again. They all stared in horror and shock at the now empty door opening as the bike and the person on it disappeared into the distance.

 

Seungkwan knew that bike. And he knew the person riding it.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's 2:30am, I'm sobbing because of the official photos that were just released, and I need to sleep NOW :D 
> 
> +I know nothing about how hotels work  
> +Why scones!?  
> +Imagine Hansol having his curtain hair   
> +Next up: Hansol destroyed more than he thought, are some people going to find out about his affair with Seungkwan?
> 
>  
> 
> Let me know what you think, comments are fuel~


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of a certain someone riding his motorcycle through the Ruby hangout.

Soonyoung walked around the room, barely able to pick up his feet. He heard something crack and he looked down. Underneath his feet was broken glass from the frame that held the uniform from when he and Seungkwan were in the cheer squad for Seungcheol's wrestling team in high school. It had fallen from the wall and the motorcycle must have ran over it because there were tire-marks on the shirt. It wasn't the only thing that used to be on the wall or on a table and now lay broken on the floor. Soonyoung picked up an artwork Mingyu had made for him for one of his birthdays. It had a large rip right in the middle.

 

“I'll make a new one, okay?” Mingyu said, breaking the deafening silence that had filled the room after the motorcycle had left. Soonyoung didn't respond to him. Instead, he kicked a chair and let out an angry yell. He kicked it again. And again.

 

“Soonyoung, calm down, man!” Seungcheol walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. Soonyoung jerked away from the touch.

 

“Calm down!? Don't tell me to fucking calm down, Cheol! Look around you! They destroy our fucking hangout, my home, and I'm supposed to calm down?”

 

“Kicking and yelling isn't going to fix anything! We'll find out who it was and we'll make sure they pay for what they did!”

 

Soonyoung took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. He looked around the room again and let out a long sigh. He slumped down in the chair he was kicking moments before. Seungkwan was torn. He knew it had been Hansol. He looked at his best friend and opened his mouth to say something, but the words wouldn't come out. Why. Why couldn't he just tell them it had been him?

 

<>

 

In the end Seungkwan didn't tell them what he knew. Instead he found himself in front of the garage Hansol worked at later that day. He hesitated for a bit, but finally he pushed the door open and went inside.

 

At the sound of the bell Hansol opened his mouth to greet whoever just came through the door but stopped when he saw who it was. He scoffed and returned to the car he was working on.

 

“Can we talk?” Seungkwan asked. Hansol didn't reply.

 

“Hansol?” Seungkwan tried again. No response. “Hansol...why would you do that?” He took a step closer to the car. Hansol still wasn't looking at him. “Do you realize that we were inside? You could have run over one of us. Don't you care?”

 

Hansol snorted and finally turned to face Seungkwan. “Why should I? You and your friends never care about other people. It's not like you're my boyfriend or anything. You made that perfectly clear.”

 

“Is _that_ what this is all about? You're mad at me because I said something stupid, so you decided to run your motorcycle through our hangout!?” Seungkwan couldn't believe what he was hearing. He had come over feeling guilty, confused, and angry, but right now the anger was gaining ground.

 

“No. We're in two different gangs with issues between them. This was just a result.” Hansol said as if it wasn't a big deal, denying that it had anything to with their relationship.

 

“What does that even mean? Don't just try to brush away what you did by calling it 'gang issues', Hansol! There was no reason for you to-”

 

“Whatever, rich boy.” Hansol cut him off, “I was just sick and tired of you people always doing whatever the fuck you want without thinking how it might mess with people's lives!”

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

“I'm talking about how you are all just a bunch of privileged, stuck up, rich boys who never have to worry about things like money or anything else for that matter.”

 

Seungkwan didn't know how to respond to that. He thought that over the last months Hansol had gotten to know him well enough to know that what he just said wasn't true.

 

“Besides,” Hansol continued, “What's the big deal anyway? You guys are all loaded, just buy new stuff.”

 

At this Seungkwan finally snapped and started yelling at Hansol in a way he had never yelled at anyone before. “Did it ever occur to you that some stuff have value other than monetary? Did it ever occur to you that even us _rich privileged problem-less_ _people_ have things we care about that have nothing to do with money? You have no idea what you destroyed because you only see us as empty shallow people who care only about material things and power. Fuck you. You are pathetic!”

 

“At least I don't go around telling lies about people so they get kicked out of school just because I had a disagreement with them!”

 

“I have no idea what your delusional mind thinks it's talking about, but if you think any of us had something to do with Joshua getting expelled you're mistaken. Get your facts straight before you go around and destroying people's homes. Don't contact me ever again. Vernon.”

 

Hansol looked up just in time to see Seungkwan's back as he opened the door and stormed out. Having Boo Seungkwan call him Vernon felt like a stab to the heart. Most people called him Vernon. Heck, even the name-tags he wore at all of his part-time jobs said Vernon. But ever since that first time that they had hooked up he had always been Hansol when it was just them. He liked it when Boo Seungkwan called him by his real name. He liked that Boo Seungkwan was one of the few people to call him that. He didn't like that Boo Seungkwan had just called him Vernon. He didn't like the way they left things. He was still angry too, but he started to doubt if destroying their hangout had been a good way to deal with his issues. Like Seungkwan had pointed out, he hadn't thought about the possibility of hitting someone. It also never occurred to him he might destroy something that wasn't replaceable. Or maybe he had just thought he wouldn't care. Why would he care about the Ruby gang? Just because Seungkwan was one of them? He knew Seungkwan to be more than just a snobby rich kid, but he was still very wealthy. He had so much more options, opportunities, and possibilities than Hansol and his friends had, combined.

 

He had just been so angry after Jisoo had told them what had happened. Maybe he was angry with Seungkwan too. If he was being honest it was probably more about Seungkwan than anything else. After all, he didn't really know for sure one of the Rubies had anything to do with Jisoo getting expelled. Hansol sighed and tried to focus on his work again. He'd worry about Seungkwan and what he did later.

 

<>

 

Soonyoung had been living on his own since he was sixteen. His father still paid for everything, but at least he was out of the house. Away from the daily condescending and hateful remarks of his mother. Well, she was only his mother to the outside world. In actuality Soonyoung had been the result of an affair his father had. He never knew his real mother. One time he had made the mistake to ask his stepmother why and she had yelled at him. Telling him about how his father had planned to pay his mistress so she'd have enough money to move away and take care of the baby, but when he found out it was going to be a boy his attitude changed. Suddenly he wanted to raise the child himself. According to his stepmother she only agreed to go along with it because the shame of her husband's affair coming out was an even more unbearable thought to her.

 

So for the first years of his life he had a mother who seemed to hate him, who seemed to favor his older sister in everything, who seemed to be annoyed whenever he tried to get some type of attention, who seemed to hate him even. He learned the truth when he was eight and overheard a conversation between her and his father. _I am sick and tired of pretending to be the mother of your bastard. It's humiliating_. He had asked his father about it and he had told him the truth. Part of the truth anyway. At first Soonyoung had felt guilty towards his stepmother. For a while he tried to please her. But nothing he ever did was good enough for her. In time he started to resent her for punishing a child whose only crime it was to have been born in the first place. He also started to resent his father for never being there and leaving him alone with someone who hated him.

 

He felt incredibly lonely during that time. His father was working all the time, his sister didn't talk to him much, and most of the kids at school seemed to think he was annoying. Seungkwan was the first real friend he ever made. It had been the first day of middle school. Seungkwan was loud and talked a lot so he was hard to miss. One of his jokes fell flat with most of the people in the class, except Soonyoung who laughed so hard he almost cried. This had been the start of their friendship. For the first time he didn't feel alone.

 

They met Mingyu and Seungcheol when all of their fathers had brought them to the country club for the first time later in the school year. They went to a different school than Soonyoung and Seungkwan, but they bonded over being incredibly bored at formal occasions that the people at the country club seemed to love. Not to mention all the pressure and expectations placed on them by their parents. When it was time for high school they made sure they all got into the same school. They decided they needed a proper hangout and that's when Soonyoung had come up with the idea of him moving out. It was the first thing he ever did that his stepmother supported.

 

Soonyoung and the other three boys had all decorated the hangout together, but Soonyoung had the last say since he actually had to live there. He had made sure that besides basic things such as furniture and a billiards table (that was clearly essential for a good home-life experience) the house was filled with things that really meant something to him. Artworks that Mingyu had made, photos of him and his friends, his cheer squad uniform. He had one, almost obligatory, family portrait hanging on a space on the wall that he never looked at. He had felt more alone living in a house with three other people who were supposed to be his family than he did living on his own. Not that he was actually alone a lot.

 

Throughout high school the four of them spent a lot of time hanging out at his place. When they weren't out doing things their parents would disapprove of they would hang out and play games, watch movies on the huge television, or just hang out doing nothing in particular. Now that they were in university Seungcheol and Seungkwan came over a lot and Mingyu had all but moved in. Officially Mingyu lived at the dorm, but he hated going to university and everything about it so he spent most of the nights over at the hangout or in somebody else's bed.

 

To Soonyoung their hangout wasn't just a building that they had filled with random expensive crap. It wasn't even just his house. It was his home. So when the phone call came that basically confirmed his suspicions about who had been driving that motorcycle and that the police were on their way to arrest him, he felt a weird sense of satisfaction knowing he could probably ruin this person's life.

 

<>

 

Seungkwan returned to their hangout in the evening. He had been wandering around trying to collect his thoughts, but his thought like his emotions were still all over the place. He walked through the room that, despite being almost clear of the broken stuff, still showed signs of what happened earlier that day. The floor was badly damaged and none of the stuff from the walls had been put back yet. He could hear his friends upstairs and he was happy to find them playing billiards like usual.

 

“There you are, finally. Did you finish your paper?” Seungcheol asked him.

 

“What?”

 

“The paper that you said was super important and could absolutely not wait even-though our placed had just been trashed?” Seungcheol reminded him of the lie he had told his friends to go see Hansol.

 

“Oh, yeah, no, I totally finished that. Definite A.” He cleared his throat. “So, eh, downstairs looks a lot better.”

 

“Better than when you left. Not better than before a lunatic drove his motorcycle through it.” Soonyoung noted. “We hired some able-bodied people to clear out all the broken stuff. They're coming by tomorrow to replace the floor too.”

 

Seungkwan nodded in understanding, but found himself feeling nervous and stressed again thinking about Hansol. He was so mad at him, but he still couldn't find it in himself to rat him out.

 

“They arrested the idiot by the way.” Soonyoung informed him.

 

“What idiot?”

 

“The one who drove his bike in here.”

 

“Wha- How did they even know who did it?”

 

“Because we told them.”

 

“What do you mean? How did _you_ know?” Seungkwan's heart had started to pound in his chest. He was so busy being conflicted about what to do that it never occurred to him someone else might find out it had been Hansol.

 

“Don't you want to know who it was?”

 

Oh shit. Seungkwan had to remind himself that he wasn't suppose to know anything at all. “Oh, yeah. Of course? Probably one of the Daebak gang, right? They all drive motorcycles.”

 

“Well, it _was_ one of their motorcycles, but it wasn't one of them who was driving it.”

 

“Oh?”

 

“My first thought actually went to Daebak, too. But Cheol pointed out that they're not dumb enough to drive their easily recognized motorcycles into someone's house. So, then I thought 'who is dumb enough?' and it hit me. Carrot gang. They're always doing stupid shit.”

 

“Okay, but how do you know it really was them?”

 

“Mingyu. He remembered one of their bikes got stolen by one of the Carrots a while ago. He found out which one and who has been using it. So-”

 

“Wait. How did he found that out? Are you all a bunch of detectives all of a sudden?” Seungkwan knew he was asking too many questions to the point where it seemed suspicious that he was more interested in how they got the information than the actual information itself, but he couldn't help himself.

 

“Probably from Jeonghan, who he's been fucking. Anyway,-”

 

“I have not!” Mingyu interrupted, highly offended (even-though it was true).

 

“Yes, you have. And Cheol's been pissy about it because he wants to sleep with him too and feed him grapes or something.”

 

“I do not!”

 

“Yes, you do. Look, I get it, he's very attractive, but seriously guys I-”

 

“Excuse me, hello? Are we trusting information given to us by a questionable source under questionable circumstances? Why are we assuming the information given to us is correct?”

 

“Relax, Seungkwan. Don't be so obsessive. It's not just that. We cross-referenced with the footage from the security camera by the front door. It was Vernon, by the way. And they already arrested him. Found the bike at the garage he works at. Idiot. Driving in here on a stolen motorcycle while there were people inside. Maybe he had plans to seriously hurt us.”

 

“Oh, come on, you know that's not true! He probably didn't think we were here, he isn't like that, he-” Seungkwan quickly shut himself up when he saw the look on his friends' faces. He was defending Hansol. No, he was defending Vernon. His friends didn't know Hansol.

 

“Anyway...I still need to make my official statement, but the very nice police officer told me that could wait until tomorrow. Let Vernon rot in a cell for the night. They'll want your statement too.”

 

Seungkwan nodded, but he wasn't really listening anymore. He turned around and walked away while mumbling something about another paper he needed to write.

 

<>

 

“Chwe!”

 

Hansol looked up at the police officer staring at him from the other side of the iron bars. He had been trying to take a nap on the, very uncomfortable, bed in the corner of the jail cell he was in.

 

“Come on, Chwe. Up! You're out.”

 

“What?”

 

“Someone paid your bail.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Soonyoung, you poor child I will hug you (but please don't ruin Hansol's life, although he's the one who decided to run a motorcycle through your house)  
> *What will happen to Verkwan?? (a lot will happen next chapter)  
> *Mingyu x Jeonghan is not like Seungkwan x Hansol. There are zero romantic feelings. Probably  
> (*not related to the fic, but I spent like 7 hours today drawing Boo and I'm not actually finished yet >.>) 
> 
> Comments are always very much appreciated


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The DaeBak gang talk about what's going on with the Carrots and the Rubies.  
> Seungkwan is looking to talk to Hansol.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did not proofread this because it's 2am and I just wanted to post this and go to sleep :D   
> Please enjoy, leave me a comment if you like Seventeen (HA! Now you have to leave a comment or-...no you don't have to. Just enjoy <3 )

Today was the kind of day Jihoon liked. Nothing really happened, he could just stay in his office all day getting some work done. He didn't mind that Wonwoo and Minghao were currently in his office with him. They were nice and quiet. Wonwoo was sitting on the couch, laptop on the coffee table, alternating between working on the club's administration and working on an essay that was due soon. Minghao sat next to him, busy with his phone. Every once in a while Minghao would leave to take care of something and he always brought back coffee. Yes. Jihoon liked these kinds of days.

 

His work vibe got interrupted when Jeonghan and Seokmin entered his office. They were not so good at the quiet. Especially Seokmin.

 

“Sorry to interrupt, but I just bought a crazy amount of donuts and I'm here to share!” Seokmin announced with an amount of glee that was far too much for donuts. He offered them to Wonwoo and Minghao before placing the box on the desk in front of Jihoon. Jihoon's face said _why did you buy this many donuts you idiot_ but his hand was reaching out for the pink-glazed one. With sprinkles. He then turned his attention to Jeonghan who had sat down on the armrest of the couch.

 

“And why are you here? Did you come to offer me something like my good friend Seokmin has?”

 

“Just information.”

 

Jihoon didn't say anything else and Jeonghan knew him well enough to know that it meant he wanted him to continue.

 

“They've arrested Vernon for driving that motorcycle he stole from us a while ago through the Ruby's hangout. No-one was hurt.”

 

Seokmin looked shocked and almost dropped his donut, “He drove a _motorcycle_ through their house? That's crazy!”

 

Minghao shrugged, “He said no-one got hurt. I've seen crazier things. This one time I-”

 

“How did they know it was Vernon.” Wonwoo interrupted. “Did they catch him on the scene?”

 

“No. Mingyu asked me for some info about our stolen motorcycle because he thought he recognized it. He let me know they arrested him a few hours later.”

 

At this Jihoon frowned and momentarily put his donut down. “Look, babe, I don't care who you sleep with as long as it's just sex. But I can't say I like you discussing this kind of stuff with people from outside our group.”

 

“Relax, Jihoon. I only told him about that bike Vernon stole and has been riding around on. Isn't it better they know it wasn't us who drove a motorcycle through a building?”

 

Jihoon sighed and picked up his donut again. He knew Jeonghan would never give away any real valuable information, but he'd still preferred it if he didn't give away any information at all. Although in this case it was probably the best thing to do.

 

Minghao scoffed. “You're still fucking around with that tree?”

 

Jeonghan cocked his head to the side and blinked at him innocently, “If I didn't know any better I'd think someone is a little jealous.”

 

“Of you? Ha. Don't make me laugh.”

 

A smirk painted Jeonghan's lips now, “I meant jealous of Mingyu for getting to experience the wonder that is me, but I guess it's me you're jealous of. I didn't know you liked trees, Hao.” he finished with a wink.

 

Minghao scoffed. “Whatever.” He put Jeonghan on mute and focused his attention on Jihoon. “You know the Carrots probably think it was the Rubies who got Joshua expelled. Maybe they got so pissed that they ran their motorcycle through their place.”

 

“Maybe. Either way there is no need for the Carrots to know that it wasn't them.”

 

Jeonghan had walked around the desk and now stood behind Jihoon's chair. He leaned down and wrapped his arms around his shoulders. “Don't you want some credit for your hard work, Hoonnie?”

 

“Not really. Better if they don't know it was us, actually. Besides. It wasn't that hard. Most people are either easily scared or easily corrupted.”  
  


<>

 

Seungkwan hadn't heard from Hansol since he bailed him out. He knew they hadn't made up or anything, but he had expected some sort of contact. He barely slept because he kept waiting for his phone to let him know he had a new message. But morning came and still nothing. Maybe Hansol was really dense and didn't realize it had been him.

 

Of course he hadn't told his friends about bailing Hansol out and he was afraid to go to their hangout right now. Afraid to tell them, afraid what their reaction would be. What would he even say? He was trying really hard to come up with an excuse that didn't make it seem like he just betrayed his friends and helped one of their enemies. But the thoughts about his friends kept being pushed away by thoughts of Hansol. So Seungkwan decided he needed to talk with him first. It was still early so he probably had some time before his friends would go to the police station to make their statements and find out Hansol wasn't there anymore.

 

Seungkwan didn't want to talk over the phone. They had never talked over the phone. Also, he wouldn't know what to say. It would be easier talking to him face-to-face. Probably. At least he could use hand gestures and body language and stuff. The only problem now was finding Hansol. He wouldn't be at work right now and Seungkwan didn't actually know exactly where he lived, so he went to the one other place he knew of where he could be.

 

He knew where their hangout was even if he'd never been there. The door looked disheveled, the paint was chipped and faded, and there was a hole where there used to be a doorbell. Seungkwan took a deep breath and knocked. He wasn't sure someone would even be there this early, let alone Hansol. He knocked again, a little louder this time. He could here a muffled voice from behind the door “ _Yeah, yeah, I'm coming I'm coming._ ” The door opened with a creak. In the door opening stood the small boy (man? Baby?) Seungkwan only knew as Dino. He looked at Seungkwan with a weird kind of amusement in his eyes.

 

“What do you want Ruby? Selling bibles or something?”

 

“Why would I be selling bibles? I-” Seungkwan stopped himself from rambling and composed himself, “Is Vernon here?” He decided it was best to call him Vernon for now.

 

“What's it to you?” Chan asked with a scoff, looking him up and down.

 

“Now, now.” Another man, much taller, said as he placed an arm around Chan's shoulder. “Let's be polite. This Ruby here came to visit us normal folk. He's looking for Vernon who isn't here right now, but _I_ think we should ask him to come inside to wait for him. Don't you?” They exchanged a look between each other that Seungkwan couldn't understand before moving out of the way and gesturing for him to come inside. Against his better judgment that's what Seungkwan did.

 

Once inside the tall one pulled up a chair and placed it in the middle of the room. “Come on, don't just stand there. Sit. I'm Jun, by the way.”

 

“Boo Seungkwan. I can stand.”

 

“Oh we know who you are, don't we, Dino? Now. Sit.”

 

“That's really okay.”

 

“We're just being polite here, Ruby.”

 

Seungkwan could feel the tension in the air. He probably should have listen to the bigger part of his brain saying it was not a good idea to enter the hangout in the first place. But he was here now and sitting down as told seemed to be the better idea here. What else was he going to do? They wouldn't just let him walk out and Seungkwan wasn't much of a fighter. So he sat down on the chair. Jun standing behind him. Next thing he knew his hands were being tied behind his back by Jun, while Chan was getting his legs.

 

“Wait! What are you doing? Stop! I'm not here to cause any trouble, I just need to talk to Vernon!”

 

“You don't need your hands or arms for talking, Ruby.” Jun replied.

 

“In fact, you should be grateful that we're only tying you up instead of breaking any limbs.” Chan added.

 

Seungkwan let out an angry huff and he would have shrugged his shoulders if he could have. “Fine. Whatever.”

 

“Huh.” Chan gave Jun a somewhat surprised look, “I was kind of expecting him to start crying. He seems the type to start crying, doesn't he?”

 

“Crying while pointing out your flaws.” Jun agreed.

 

Seungkwan was about to offer a snappy comeback when they were all started by a voice coming from the door. “What's going on here?” Jisoo asked. He and Hansol walked inside, taking in the sight of Jun and Chan and a tied up Seungkwan.

 

“This Ruby came over here looking for Vernon for some reason. So we were polite and told him he could wait inside.”

 

Jisoo removed his coat and neatly hung it on a hanger, “Did you really need to tie him up, guys?”

 

Hansol didn't listen to what the others were saying and walked towards the chair. “What are you doing here, Seungkwan?”

 

“I came to talk to you, because...”

 

“He probably just wanted to know why you were out of jail after they got the police involved like a bunch of cowards.” Dino answered before Seungkwan could say any more.

 

“How brave was _he_ when he ran a motorcycle through a house with people inside? Anyway, I'm not the one who reported him.”

 

“You weren't?” Hansol asked, still ignoring his friends in the room.

 

Seungkwan rolled his eyes and clicked his tongue, “Why would I first report you and then pay your bail? That doesn't make any sense Ha...non”

 

Hansol shrugged, “I dunno. Mood swings.”

 

“Dude. For a sec I thought he was going to call him Hansol. That would've been weird.” Jun whispered to Jisoo. But Jisoo was too focused on the way Hansol and Seungkwan were talking to each other to hear him. What was going on. He had barely ever seen them in the same room, let alone talking to each other. Something was off.

 

“And another thing” Seungkwan continued to say to Hansol. “If you knew it was me who bailed you out why didn't you contact me?”

 

“Why did you leave right after bailing me out? Hansol shot back.

  
“I...I didn't know what to say or maybe I was just scared of what you would say.” He added that last part with a small voice.

 

“Why would you bail him out, Seungkwan? What do you care?” Jisoo asked sharply, interrupting them.

 

“I...I just...I don't like to involve the police in any gang related issues.”

 

“I still don't get it, Seungkwan!” Hansol, not paying too much attention to Jisoo's questioning gaze, “You don't make any sense. You say one thing, do another. Can't you just do what you say and say what you mean?”

“And can you just admit that what you did was stupid, irresponsible, and dangerous! You, and your whole gang for that matter, need to develop some common sense!” Seungkwan knew that this wasn't why he had come here. He wasn't sure exactly why he _had_ come, but yelling at Hansol wasn't it. He was busy trying to calm himself down and shut up his mouth that sometimes said things his mind didn't mean, when Chan decided it was time for some action.

 

“He keeps insulting us. Trying to cover his ass! Rubies always think they can get away with anything. Thinking he can just come to _our_ turf and say whatever bullshit he wants. Punch him, Vernon!”

 

“What?”

 

Jun nodded in agreement with their youngest member. “They even got Joshua expelled, remember?”

 

“Excuse me, no we didn't” Seungkwan said more annoyed at the false accusation than scared of potentially getting punched in the face by the person he was secretly in love with.

 

“No-one was talking to you!” Jun yelled in Seungkwan's direction. 'Come on, Vernon. He seems to think he can talk to you like he knows you or something. He clearly thinks he's better than us. Punch him!”

 

“Normally I don't really condone violence, but I'm not in a good mood and I can't deal with Seungkwan talking.” Jisoo added as he shook his head in a defeated manner.

 

“See! If Joshua of all people says to do it...”

 

Hansol stopped to think for a moment to consider his options here. The easiest one would be to just punch Seungkwan. Punch that pretty, cute, adorable face. Or...

 

Seungkwan's heart started to pound as Hansol got closer. He couldn't read the expression on his face. Was he really going to get punched in the face? By Hansol. He understood the situation they were in. Even if Hansol didn't want to punch him (and Seungkwan wasn't even sure if that was the case), did he have much of a choice? Hansol got even closer and Seungkwan closed his eyes. He waited for the pain. But it didn't come. Hesitantly he opened his eyes only to find Hansol staring straight at him. He leaned in and kissed Seungkwan on the lips.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So....I was actually planning on also including what happens next in this chapter, but I liked the size it's now and...the other option is a longer wait for an update so...don't hate me for the cliffhanger!
> 
> *Seokmin: *is in a gang that owns shady clubs and does shady things* *main task is to provide sugary treats*   
> *Wonwoo seems like the type of guy who enjoys doing administration  
> *The reason they call Jisoo Joshua and Vernon Hansol in this chapter is because they always call them that when it's not just them. Same for Dino/Chan  
> *Hansol has no more fucks to give. He just wants to kiss Boo Seungkwan. (honestly he didn't have that many fucks to begin with)
> 
> Also, some shameless self-promotion: I'm very very VERY into Boogyu/Verkwan ft. Mingyu/Hansol being jealous of Boogyu lately so...I wrote a one-shot and have more plans for (angsty) Verkwan/Boogyu fics (although the one I wrote now 'Flower' isn't angsty). So...go check it out if you want! <3


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hansol has just kissed Seungkwan in front of the rest of the Carrot gang. Is Seungkwan ready to admit his feelings for him?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okaaay, so this turned out WAY longer than I had intended. Sorry if it's boring?

For a moment every person in the room was completely quiet. If it had been a funny movie tumbleweed would have been blowing by.

 

“Hansol, what the fuck?!” Momentarily forgetting that there was someone from outside their group present, Jun broke the silence.

 

Hansol stood up straight again and placed his hands in his pockets as he took a few steps away from Seungkwan, who was just staring at him with wide eyes, “I'm not going to punch him. That's all.”

 

“What do you mean 'that's all'!?” Chan yelled at him, “There's a long way between not punching someone and _kissing_ them!”

 

“Actually, there's a thin line between love and hate.” Hansol said with a wink.

 

“Don't make jokes right now! What's going on?” Jisoo asked him, more confused than angry.

 

Hansol sighed and ran his hand through his hair, “I'm not going to punch him because I'm in love with him.”

 

“What?” Chan scoffed. “You _love_ rich boy over here all of a sudden?”

 

Hansol shrugged. “It's not all of a sudden. It's been going on for months. I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys anything, but seeing as we're not in an actual relationship I figured you didn't really needed to know. Oh and there's the whole gang thing. But, yeah, I'm in love with Boo Seungkwan. Over-dramatic, can't be quiet for even one minute Boo Seungkwan. He might not feel the same way, but there you have it. Whatever.”

 

The other three looked at their friend in total disbelieve. Almost simultaneously they started berating him with questions and critique.

 

“Months!?”

 

“There you have it? Have you completely lost your mind!? I can't even begin to-”

 

“I'm in love with you too!” A voice louder than the others spoke.

 

They all gaped at Seungkwan who had just spoken up. Seungkwan had also surprised himself with his outburst. Jisoo sat down on the couch. “What is going on in here on this day!? I am so tired and confused.”

 

The room was quiet again. Hansol looked at Seungkwan and Seungkwan looked at him. “You're not just saying that because you're tied down to a chair and want to get away without being punched in the face?” Hansol asked him.

 

“I am not. I...I didn't want to fall in love with you. I've tried so hard not to. I've tried denying it. I even said some mean things to you that I didn't mean. But, yes, I'm in love with you.” It was weird to finally admit it and to say it out loud. Tied to a chair surrounded mostly by people who didn't like him.

 

Hansol got closer and squatted down in front of the chair with his hands lightly leaning on Seungkwan's knees. He reached his hand up and stroked his thumb along Seungkwan's jaw. He got up just enough to be able to reach Seungkwan's lips again. With Hansol's lips still on his own Seungkwan felt his hands being freed. He pulled away from the kiss to find out what was going on, suddenly reminded of the presence of the other three people in the room.

 

“Hansol, can you get his legs?” Jisoo said as he put the rope he had just untied on one of the desks.

 

“Shua, why are you calling him Hansol in front of an outsider?” Jun whispered to him, “And why did you untie him?”

 

“Look. I don't know exactly what's going on, but clearly these two like each other and have gone beyond the point of formalities such as that. Or doesn't he call you Hansol? Just how close are you?”

 

“He calls me Hansol whenever we're alone.” Hansol explained as he finished untying Seungkwan's legs. “I told him to call me that the first time we...”

 

“We don't need the details!” Chan interrupted.

 

“Don't we?” Jun asked in return. “I'm still very confused and not very okay with this. Whatever this is.”

 

Jisoo nodded in agreement “Look, I may have untied you, but that doesn't mean I don't expect some sort of an explanation from you two.”

 

“Guys, I know this is very unexpected and I will totally talk to you about all of this, but I really need to talk to Seungkwan first. So, ehm, excuse us.” With that Hansol grabbed Seungkwan's hand and dragged him outside. His friends were too flabbergasted to say anything at this point.

 

Once outside he let go of Seungkwan's hand. “Are you ready to admit that what is going on between us is more than just “stress relieve”, more than just sex?”

 

Seungkwan looked down, “I'm really sorry for what I said to you. I just...I didn't mean that you're not good enough for me or anything. It's just...no-one except my closest friends even know that I'm gay and they all kind of...don't like you.”

 

“I didn't ask for us to go public. I only wanted you to acknowledge that we weren't just fuck buddies. No-one else had to know. It would have been enough if we knew, you know.”

 

Seungkwan looked up with a weak smile, “I'll admit we're more than fuck buddies, but you kind of ruined the whole secrecy thing by kissing me in front of your friends.”

 

Hansol got a little closer and gave him a soft smile, “Don't worry about my friends, all right? I'll talk to them. They may not like you, but I'm pretty sure they like me so I'll get them to not tell anyone if that's what you want.”

 

Seungkwan nodded. Hansol got closer and held one of his hands. “So, ehm, can we be a couple now? Even a secret one, if you want.”

 

Seungkwan took a moment to think, “I...I think I'd like that, but...”

 

“But what, Boo?”

 

“You have to do something for me first.”

 

“What's that?”

 

“I need you to come with me to our hangout and apologize to my friends. Especially Soonyoung.”

 

Hansol groaned, “Do I have to? And which one is Soonyoung again?”

 

Seungkwan frowned. “Hoshi. And yes you have to. If you want to be my boyfriend that is. And if you don't want to end up in jail. They still need to make their official statements. Maybe if you apologize and I tell them I'm in love with you I can convince them to drop any charges against you.”

 

Hansol smirked, “You'll tell them about us?”

 

Seungkwan sighed, “I think I have to. I can't think of any other reason why I would cover your ass.”

 

“You can cover my ass anytime you want.”

 

“Seriously. Now is not the time for sexual innuendos, Hansol.”

 

“Sorry, sorry.” He let out a big sigh. “Okay, fine. I'll go with you to apologize to your friends. What I did _was_ pretty stupid and I am actually sorry.”

 

Seungkwan smiled at him, but his smile fell when he remember Hansol's friends who were still inside. “What about _your_ friends? Don't you have to talk to them?”

 

“Oh yeah, I guess. Wait a sec.” He let go of Seungkwan's hand and walked back inside. Seungkwan followed, but stayed near the entrance.

 

“Oh look, if it isn't Romeo.” Chan said sarcastically. “Have you come to delight us with your tale of forbidden love?”

 

“Eh, not really. I don't have time right now. Here's the short version of what happened: we started hooking up and then we fell in love. Now I have to go to the Ruby hangout to apologize to his friends so he'll let me be his boyfriend. Oh and so I don't go back to jail I guess. See ya.”

 

Everyone, Seungkwan included, stared at Hansol in disbelieve that this was his only explanation of the situation, but Hansol was already out the door. He looked back and gestured at Seungkwan to follow him. Seungkwan, however, told him to wait a minute and took a step inside.

 

“Joshua? I just wanted to let you know it really wasn't us who got you expelled. I know I can be a pain in the ass, but you always write good articles and I appreciate your effort at the newspaper. Even if you don't always write the right ones...”

 

Jisoo looked at Seungkwan, trying to decide if he was being genuine. He decided to give him the benefit of the doubt this time, for Hansol's sake. “Thank you for saying that, Seungkwan. I guess. And I'm willing to believe it wasn't you. But how do you know it wasn't one of your friends?”

 

“They would have told me. They always tell me everything.”

 

“Just like how you always tell _them_ everything?”

 

“I...” Seungkwan didn't quite know how to respond to that. It was true he had been lying to them for months. But there would have been no reason for them to keep getting Jisoo expelled a secret.

 

“Seungkwan, come on!” Hansol shouted from outside. “You said yourself they would make their police statements soon and I'm not sure the prison allows conjugal visits!”

 

Seungkwan gave the three men in the room an awkward nod and walked out.

 

<>

 

Seungkwan had called Soonyoung from the car to make sure they were all at the hangout and hadn't gone to the police yet. He told him to wait because he needed to talk with them. Seungkwan told Hansol to wait outside the Ruby hangout while he would go in and explain the situation to his friends first. He cautiously opened the door and peeked inside. His friends were all there.

 

“Seungkwan, there you are! What the hell is going on?” Soonyoung said as soon as he spotted his best friend coming in. “First you ask me not to go to the police station yet and now I just got off the phone with the police and they told me someone bailed that fucker out yesterday.”

 

“I know.” Seungkwan said. He tried to stay calm, but his heart was already pounding in his chest. “I bailed him out.”

 

Seungcheol got up from where he was sitting and looked at Seungkwan, “You did _what_? Why?”

 

“There's something I need to tell you guys and I really need you to listen to me, okay?”

 

“Okay...” Soonyoung said hesitantly. He knew Seungkwan and he was about to tell them something he knew they didn't want to hear.

 

“Vernon is waiting outside.”

 

Soonyoung shot up, his face angry, “What!? He's _here_? What the fuck. I'm going to kick his a-”

 

Before he could continue and walk to the door Seungkwan blocked his path. “Wait! Please listen to me first. Please.”

 

They all sat down again and waited for Seungkwan to start talking.

 

“I brought Vernon here today because he's going to apologize.”

 

Soonyoung scoffed and shook his head, “Why would he do that and why should I even listen to him?”

 

“He's going to apologize because he knows that what he did was irresponsible and he regrets doing it. He's also doing it...” Seungkwan took a breath, “...for me.”

 

“For you?” Mingyu asked, “What do you mean?”

 

“Well...it started a few months ago. I ran into him on the street and he started talking to me and...” he stopped. He wasn't sure what to say, how to explain.

 

“And, what? Spit it out Kwan.” Seungcheol was starting to get impatient.

 

“We hooked up.” He didn't look at his friends. He was afraid of what their faces would look like right now. He hadn't even told them the worst part about being in love with him.

 

“Wow. I did _not_ see that coming.” Mingyu said.

 

“You had sex with Vernon?” Soonyoung asked. His voice was cold, emotionless.

 

“Y-yeah.”

 

“Seungkwan I can't believe you'd hook up with someone like him.” Mingyu added his two cents.

 

“Like you're one to judge Mingyu!” Seungkwan fired back. He wasn't the first one of them to have sex with someone from another gang.

 

“And?” Soonyoung asked. “What does this have to do with him being here right now? One hook up explains shit, Seungkwan.”

 

Seungkwan averted his eyes again. The look his best friend was giving him was anything but friendly. “We...we didn't just hook up one time. We hooked up many times after that and...it became less and less about sex and even though I tried really hard not to, I fell i-”

 

“No.” Soonyoung cut him off. “Stop talking right now. Don't you dare finishing that sentence, Seungkwan.”

 

“But, I-”

 

“No, shut up! You're not going to tell me that that piece of shit is here today to apologize because you're _in love_ when just yesterday, _yesterday_ , Seungkwan, he ran his motorcycle through my house? Are you _fucking_ kidding me.” He slammed his fist on the coffee table and Seungkwan flinched. None of them had ever seen him this angry, not even yesterday.

 

“I...he...he made a mistake. I said some mean things to him and they thought we were responsible for getting Joshua expelled!”

 

“I can't believe what I'm hearing. You're actually _defending_ him. He must have a dick made out of gold for you to betray your friends like this.”

 

“It's not like that! Please, just-”

 

“Seungkwan? Is everything okay? I'm coming in now, I'm bored outside and I heard yelling and stuff.” Hansol announced as he opened the front door.

 

“Oh, if it isn't golden dick.” Soonyoung said, venom dripping from his voice.

 

“It's Vernon, actually.” Hansol said.

 

For a moment Seungkwan was afraid Soonyoung would attack Hansol, but instead he turned around and started walking towards the stairs leading up.

 

“Come on guys, let's play a game of billiards while golden dick and knife-in-my-back _leave_.”

 

“Soonyoung, please! Just hear him out!”

 

“Don't come here again Seungkwan. You're out. Go be a Carrot for all I care.”

 

Seungcheol got up and followed Soonyoung upstairs. Mingyu gave Seungkwan a semi-apologetic look before following as well. Seungkwan was frozen for a moment but quickly followed them too, with Hansol on his heels. “Come on guys. Let's talk about this!”

 

There was no response from them. They just started to play.

 

“Guys, please. Stop ignoring me!”

 

“Cheol can you hand me that cue stick.”

 

“I know I shouldn't have lied to you, but I didn't plan for this.”

 

“Sure, here you are.”

 

“It started way before the motorcycle.”

 

It was like he was talking to a wall or like he had turned invisible.

 

“Please stop ignoring me. Please...don't cut me out like this.”

 

Seungkwan's ears were ringing. He had expected them to get angry, even yell, but he had also thought they would at least listen to what he had to say. He had though that despite getting angry they would also try to understand how he felt. He didn't expect them to cast him out and act like he didn't even exist anymore. They were his best friends. They were his family. His vision was getting blurred from the tears that were stinging in his eyes. He was only barely aware of a hand pulling him away from the scene.

 

<>

 

They sat in Seungkwan's car in silence. Hansol was in the driver's seat, he didn't think Seungkwan should be driving right now. He wouldn't be able to see the road clearly seeing as silent tears were running down his face. He was looking out the window, pretending he wasn't crying, but Hansol knew.

 

“Seungkwan? Do you want me to drive you home or something? Or, somewhere else?”

 

“Can you just...drive for a while? I don't really care where to.”

 

Hansol started the car and drove. He wanted to say something to comfort Seungkwan, but he couldn't find the right words. So he didn't say anything. For a moment he considered placing a hand on Seungkwan's leg for comfort and tell him it would be okay, but he was afraid Seungkwan wouldn't want him to. So he didn't say or do anything except drive.

 

After a little while Seungkwan wiped his tears away with his sleeve and took out his phone.

 

<>

 

Soonyoung's phone buzzed and he quickly checked the message. It was their group chat. He read the message and threw his phone across the room, breaking it against the wall. In all his life he had never felt so betrayed, disappointed and sad at the same time. The other two were startled by the sudden outburst, but didn't say anything. They hadn't said anything since Seungkwan left. Mingyu checked his own phone.

 

_Soonyoung, Seungcheol, Mingyu. I'm really sorry and I hope you'll be willing to talk to me soon and let me explain better. I know I'm asking a lot, but please don't press charges against him. For me. I love you guys._

 

<>

Seungkwan was staring at his phone. _Seungcheol has removed you from the 'Rubies' group chat._

 

“Give me your phone.” Seungkwan said and held out his hand.

 

Hansol didn't ask why and handed his dingy old phone to Seungkwan. They were at one of the cities look out points, leaning against the hood of the car. It was quiet with no-one else around.

 

Hansol looked over to see what Seungkwan was doing with his phone and saw him go into his contact list. He looked up his own number and for a moment Hansol thought he was going to delete it, but instead he changed the contact name from 'not Boo Seungkwan' to 'Boo Seungkwan♥' and handed the phone back.

 

“Hansol?” Seungkwan said without looking at him.

 

“Yeah?”

 

“I'm probably a bit of a mess right now and I know it's the first time you've seen this pathetic side of me, but...please don't break up with me right now. Not after all that.”

 

“W-what? Break up with you? Does that mean we're dating now? Like, boyfriends and stuff?”

 

Seungkwan sniffed. He could feel tears stinging his eyes again. “Aren't we?”

 

“I don't know!” Hansol said surprised. “You said I had to apologize to your friends and technically I didn't so...”

 

“But you came with me. You were going to apologize. Weren't you?”

 

“Well, yes. But then your friend freaked out and they all shunned you and- oh, I'm sorry Boo. Don't cry.”

 

Hansol quickly wrapped an arm around Seungkwan's shoulders and pulled him closer. Seungkwan held onto Hansol's waist and hugged him tight. He felt Hansol kiss the top of his head. They stayed like that for some time until Seungkwan pulled away. He took a few deep breaths and smiled at Hansol.

 

“Come on. It's time to go. I have a ton of homework and you have about a million messages from your friends so I think you should talk with them. Or do you want me to come with you?”

 

“No, no that's okay. But are you sure you're okay being alone right now? I can talk to my friends later.”

 

Seungkwan took Hansol's hand in his own, “No, it's okay. I'll be okay. No need for both of us to lose all of our friends in one day. Or...” Seungkwan's weak smile fell completely, “Do you think your friends will react the same way mine did? I mean, I didn't destroy anyone's house or anything, but of course they don't like me. I'm a stupid rich boy.”

 

Hansol reached out and stroked Seungkwan's cheek. “Nah, it'll be fine. I might not be able to convince them to invite you for Christmas or anything, but I can make them accept the fact that I like you and that you like me. I don't think they'll be okay with you becoming a Carrot though, at least not right away.”

 

“That's okay. I don't want to be a Carrot. No offense, but if I can't be a Ruby, I'd rather not be anything. I'll just be...Boo Seungkwan...the one without friends.”

 

“Don't be too sad, Boo Seungkwan. You have a pretty hot boyfriend now, right?”

 

Seungkwan scoffed and shook his head, but there was an unmistakeable smile on his face, “This guy...”

 

Hansol bit his lip and smiled. He leaned in and gave Seungkwan a soft kiss on the lips.

 

<>

 

Hansol had been dropped off near the Carrot hangout by Seungkwan before he went home. He had been gone for hours and he figured his friends wouldn't be too happy with him right now. He announced he was in love with a member from another gang, then he ran of with said member and didn't reply to any of their messages. He hadn't even read their messages. He figured they'd just repeat whatever they had to say in person anyway. He opened the door and found all his friends inside.

 

“Hey, guys.”

 

“Well, well. Look who finally decided to grace us with his presence.” Jun said dramatically.

 

“Hansol, we've been doing some talking in the time you were gone. Please sit.” Jisoo said as he gestured to a chair that was placed opposite the couch.

 

“Ehm...okay.” Hansol sat down and after seeing what happened with Seungkwan and his friends he couldn't help but feeling nervous. It didn't help he was sitting on a chair and his three friends all sat next to each other right across from him looking very serious.

 

“As we understood it you somehow fell in love with Boo Seungkwan, a Ruby. Yes?”

 

“Yes, we-”

 

Jisoo held up his hand to silence him. “And he is in love with you too. Yes?”

 

“Y-yes.”

 

“Are you dating?”

 

“Well we weren't before, but we talked about it and-”

 

“Short answers please, Hansol.”

 

“Yes. He is now my boyfriend, yes.”

 

Jisoo sighed. “All right. Here's the deal. We are willing to accept your relationship, but only in the understanding that we are not in any way obligated to like him or any of his friends. We will be civil to him whenever we see him with you, but he is still part of the Ruby gang and we can't promise what happens if we meet him in that context. However, we won't make any trouble with them if they don't make any trouble with us. Also, you can't invite him to movie nights. That's Carrots only.”

 

Chan nudged Jisoo and he added, “Oh, and no PDA in front of us.”

 

“Wow. You guys reacted a lot better than Seungkwan's friends did. Thanks. Really.”

 

“Yeah?” Chan asked. “How did that go? Do we need to find you a cheap lawyer?”

 

“Oh shit, right. I don't know actually. I haven't heard from the police, or maybe I did. I haven't checked my phone for any missed calls.”

 

“So I take it that it didn't go so well with the apologizing?” Jisoo asked.

 

“I didn't actually get to the apologizing. His friends kind of freaked out when Seungkwan told them he was sleeping with me and they _really_ freaked out when he said he was in love with me. Then they told him to leave and that he was out and they just...ignored him.”

 

“That's harsh.” Jun commented.

 

Chan shook his head, “I don't know. I kind of understand it. What if Seungkwan had been the one who got Shua expelled? Would we still be so willing to accept him dating Hansol? I don't think so.”

 

“But we wouldn't just start ignoring Hansol, would we?” Jun offered.

 

“No, I'd probably kick his ass.”

 

“Oh please, you are smol.” Jisoo laughed.

 

“I'm bigger than that Woozi and I bet your ass he can break a bone or two.”

 

Jisoo turned to Hansol, “So Seungkwan lost all of his friends because his boyfriend is an idiot and then that idiot leaves him alone? I know I'm single and don't have that much dating experience, but that doesn't seem like something a good boyfriend would do.”

 

“Wow, Jisoo. We've barely accepted Hansol dating this guy and you're already taking his side?” Jun said almost offended.

 

“There is no side. Now that our Hansol is someone's boyfriend I'm going to enjoy pointing out all the things he's doing wrong. Regardless of who the other person is.”

 

“Hey I came here to talk to you guys, because you are my friends! Besides, I offered to stay with him _he_ told me I needed to go and talk to you guys. He said he was fine.”

 

“If you say so.”

 

“Congratulations Hansol, you're already a lousy boyfriend.” Jun added teasingly.

 

“Wha- I am _not_!”

 

“I still can't believe you're actually dating that rich boy. What do you guys even talk about?” Chan asked.

 

“Just...stuff. Many things.”

 

“I'll give you one thing. He has a sweet ass.”

 

“Jun! Don't look at his ass!”

 

“I have to agree with Hansol on this one, Jun.”

 

“What? I'm just giving you a compliment about your lover. I don't particularly like his personality so-”

 

“Hey!”

 

“I'm kidding. I'm sure he's delightful once you get to know him or once he shuts up.”

 

The teasing went on for some time, but Hansol was willing to take it all. In fact, he felt quite happy and grateful towards his friends. They weren't angry with him. They didn't tell him to leave. They also didn't like Seungkwan yet, but that was okay because he was sure they would at some point.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *I don't know why Chan has such an attitude, he's just...direct.  
> *Does Hansol seem too indifferent about what he did? He doesn't actually know Soonyoung's background and exactly what he destroyed I guess, so...he's sorry but at the same time he doesn't like any of them except Seungkwan.  
> *Are the Rubies overreacting or is Seungkwan in the wrong here?  
> *I don't know how police works...like...can you even just drop charges like this?? xD
> 
> Thank you guys for all the love so far!! I started writing the next chapter but somehow I'm adding a whole thing between Seungkwan and his dad that wasn't really in the original plan (well part of it was) so it might seem a bit...too far away from the main story?


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hansol takes Seungkwan out for their first real date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was only partly planned and it might be a bit of a filler, but let's just call it character development!  
> The next few chapters (including this one) are very focused on Hansol and Seungkwan, but the others will get some more attention in later chapters!

There had been no contact between Seungkwan and the rest of the Rubies since the last time they saw each other. They hadn't contacted him. He hadn't contacted them. There were no charges pressed against Hansol and Seungkwan took that as a good sign. Even so, he had decided it was best to let them come to him instead of trying to talk to them again and make them listen. Partly because he was afraid of being treated the same way all over again. Letting them come to him felt safer. Even so, with each passing day he started to get more worried they'd never come around. In an attempt to not think about it he had completely thrown himself on his schoolwork for the past two weeks. As a result he had barely even spoken to his new boyfriend let alone seen him. He had just finished a paper that wasn't even due for another week and sighed. His neck was stiff, his eyes were tired, and his blood was probably at least 80% coffee by now. He stretched his arms and picked up his phone. One new message.

 

< _You work too hard, Boo Seungkwan. Let's go on a date this weekend >_

 

A date? This was new territory for them. They had spent most of their time together inside hotel rooms or going to or from them. Not to mention the fact that Boo Seungkwan, although not completely new to relationships and romance, had only ever had one real date and that had been a disaster. However, he longed to see Hansol and it's what couples do, right? Go on dates.

 

< _What did you have in mind?_ >

 

< _Don't worry about it._ _I'll pick you up_

_around lunch time on Saturday. Where? >_

 

Don't worry about it? There were too many unknown factors in this date equation for Seungkwan's liking, but he didn't want to show Hansol too much of the controlling freaking out part of his personality just yet. His first instinct was to call one of his three best friends to ask for advice (or rant about his problems for half an hour after which they would tell him to just calm the fuck down), but he couldn't exactly do that right now. So instead he messaged Hansol back to tell him to meet him in front of a coffee place he often went to and that he was looking forward to seeing him.

 

<>

 

“So you're really taking rich boy on a poor man's date huh?” Jun asked. They were all gathered around the TV, engaged in a fighting game tournament. Chan had suggested to do this on Saturday but then Hansol had to tell them he was taking Seungkwan out on their first official date. He hadn't expected his friends to want to hear about it, but they showed a lot more interest in it than he had thought. Perhaps they were just being nice for his sake, but he appreciated it nonetheless.

 

“You don't think he'll like it?” Hansol replied while attempting to beat up Chan's character on the screen.

 

“I don't know, man. I mean, it's outside right? Apart from the fact that your date plan costs next to nothing, you said he isn't _out_ , so will he be okay with openly being on a date?”

 

“I'm not so worried about the out thing. From an outsider's perspective we could just be two bros hanging out. No-homo. But do you really think it'll matter to him how much money I spend?”

 

“Like I said, I don't know. I have no idea what kind of person he really is, but he's probably used to the best of the best of things.”

 

“Hansol,” Jisoo spoke up as he took the controller from him (Hansol had been utterly defeated by a snickering Chan), “don't worry about it. If he likes you for who you are just be that. If not, he's not worth a penny you spend.”

 

“Yeah I guess...”

 

“You know I don't really care if your date goes well or not,” Chan decided to weigh in, “but...do you think it's a good idea to take him out on your bike? The one you drove into the Ruby hideout?”

 

Hansol hadn't really thought about that. What else was he supposed to do. Take the bus? He could not take Boo Seungkwan out on a date and have him ride the bus. His date plan was poor enough already.

 

“You can use my car if you want.” Chan added, seeing the look of worry on his friend's face.

 

“Since when do you have a car?” Jisoo asked with suspicion.

 

“Since a certain amount of time ago.”

 

“How can you even afford a car?” Jun wanted to know.

 

“It's best not to ask questions you don't want the answer to.”

 

“Chan. You scare me sometimes. But, thanks.”

 

<>

 

That Saturday Hansol pulled up in front of the coffee place Seungkwan had told him about. He was already outside waiting for him. He hadn't been nervous, but seeing Seungkwan standing there made his heart beat a little faster and his hands a little sweaty. Maybe part of him was afraid that Seungkwan would tell him this whole boyfriend thing was a mistake. Or maybe it was the fact that despite being dressed quite casually Seungkwan's outfit still looked like it cost more than all of the clothes Hansol owned combined. Or maybe it was just because he was so in love with Boo Seungkwan that seeing him made his insides twirl in weird circles. It was probably a combination of all of that. He let down the window and told his boyfriend to get in.

 

“I wasn't sure what to wear so I hope this is okay?” Seungkwan mumbled once he was inside the car. He hoped he sounded like he just threw something on instead of revealing that he actually spent about two hours last night deciding what to wear.

  
“You look great.” Hansol smiled and leaned over to kiss him. Seungkwan let him until he remembered they were out in public and anyone could just look through the window and see what they were doing. He pulled back and quickly plastered on a smile hoping to mask the fact that he didn't want to be seen doing any 'gay stuff'. “You look really good too.”

 

Hansol started the car again and drove off. Seungkwan resisted the urge to ask where they were going and Hansol turned on the radio to avoid any awkward silences. The switch from being lovers in secret to being in an actual relationship was still something they needed to adjust to. The music from the radio helped to relax the atmosphere in the car. As Hansol drove Seungkwan started humming along to the music coming from the radio. He himself didn't seem to be aware that he was doing it, but it made Hansol smile. After about fifteen minutes they pulled up on a big parking lot.

 

“The park?” Seungkwan said as he realized where they were. The biggest park of the city, stretching along the river.

 

“Before you start objecting, I know it's Saturday and there are quite a lot of people, but the spot we're going to is very quiet and no-one else will be there. I promise. We just need to stop by the convenience store first.”

 

“The convenience store?” Seungkwan hadn't known what to expect for this date, but he couldn't say a convenience store had crossed his mind. At least he wouldn't have to worry about running into any of his friends there. He followed Hansol out of the car and into the store that was located near the park entrance.

 

Once inside Seungkwan wasn't quite sure how to behave. It wasn't that he had never been to convenience stores, he just couldn't think of what they would need from one for a date. “So, ehm, why exactly are we here?”

 

“To get lunch.” Hansol said while he grabbed a basket and walked over to the instant noodles section.

 

Seungkwan stared at the selection of noodles of the instant variety. He wasn't sure what was expected of him. “You couldn't have just gotten this beforehand?” Seungkwan's mouth blurted out before his brain could stop him. He cursed himself for letting his quick-to-critique bad habit out and he hoped Hansol didn't think he was annoying. If he did he didn't show it.

 

“Well...I just wasn't sure what you like, so I figured we could pick it out together.”

 

“Right. That makes sense. Ehm, I'll take this one.” Seungkwan quickly grabbed one hoping they could get passed this slightly uncomfortable moment.

 

After making his own choice and adding some drinks and other snacks to the basket Hansol walked over to the check-out counter. “Oh here I got it.” Before Hansol could object Seungkwan handed money to the cashier and paid for everything. Seungkwan didn't notice the sigh Hansol let out. He told Seungkwan to wait a moment. He took out a thermos from his bag and filled it with hot water from the available tap.

 

He walked back to Seungkwan and held out his hand. “We have to walk a bit. Let me carry the bag.” He purposely carried the bag in his hand that was closest to Seungkwan so he wouldn't feel pressured to hold his hand in public. They both seemed to relax a bit more being outside and just walking. Hansol asked about Seungkwan's assignments and listened while he explained about all the classes he was taking. Seungkwan asked Hansol about his work at the garage and pretended to be interested in mechanics.

 

The further they walked the fewer people there were. They took a turn to a smaller path and walked almost to the edge of the park. Hansol stopped. “In here.”

 

Seungkwan stared at the spot Hansol was pointing at. “That's a bush.”

 

“Yeah, but behind the bush is a fence with a hole in it.”

 

“Do you expect me to go in there?”

 

“Yes. Come on Boo Seungkwan. Where's your sense of adventure. Afraid of bugs?”

 

Seungkwan puffed out his chest and scoffed as if offended. “Move.” He walked passed Hansol and pushed the leaves to the side with a dramatic hand gesture. There was indeed a fence with a hole in it and Seungkwan went through it. He looked around and realized he was standing in what looked like someone's backyard. A really big backyard, but it definitely looked like private property. Hansol soon followed and took Seungkwan by the hand. He felt Seungkwan flinch but he held on tight. “There's no-one here. This place is owned by some old dude and he barely comes out of his house. Not far enough to see the area close to the river anyway.” He guided them to a spot that overlooked the river and was shielded from view by a few trees. He took off his jacket and put it on the grass for Seungkwan to sit on. “And even if he did he's super slow.” He added. “We'd be out of here before he could say _dentures_.”

 

“First date and you already have me trespassing. You might be a bad influence on me.” Seungkwan said with a tease in his voice and sat down.

 

Hansol shrugged and sat down next to him,“We're not hurting anyone. I blame society.”

 

“Oh you do, do you?”

 

“Yeah. If they make us feel bad for being in love and out in the open what choice do we have?”

 

“You actually have a point there.”

 

“Oh and if I remember correctly you had us break in into your dad's hotel when we first hooked up.”

 

“It's not breaking in if you have the key.”

 

“Did your dad knew you had the key?”

 

“...”

 

“Didn't think so. No, Boo Seungkwan. You're just as bad as I am.” he said with a wink.

 

The next few hours they ate the food they had bought, talked about everything and nothing, and stared out over the river just enjoying being together. Seungkwan felt more relaxed than he had in weeks, maybe months. Something about being with Hansol allowed him to feel calm. He almost forgot they were on someone else's property.

 

“I still feel kinda bad for sneaking into some old man's yard.”

 

“Don't feel too bad, Boo. He's the one who told me about the hole in the fence in the first place.”

 

“What? You _know_ the person who lives here?”

 

“Well, sort of.”

 

“Stop being vague-” Seungkwan stopped mid-sentence and frowned.

 

“What's wrong?”

 

“I just realized I don't know your full name...”

 

“Hansol Vernon Chwe.”

 

“Oh, so Vernon _is_ actually part of your name, not just a nickname or something?”

 

“Yeah...”

 

Seungkwan sighed and let himself fall back onto the grass. “Sorry for being a crap boyfriend who knows nothing about how not to be a crap boyfriend.”

 

Hansol lay down next to him. “You're not so bad. No worse than me anyway.”

 

“If that's true I must be a pretty good boyfriend.” He propped himself up on his elbow and used his other hand to brush a lock of hair out of Hansol's eyes. “I like your hair like this. It really suits you.”

 

“Glad to hear you no longer think my hair is stupid.”

 

“When did I ever say your hair was stupid?”

 

“That day when we first got together.”

 

“Oh yeah, I guess I did say that. In my defense it did look pretty stupid.”

 

“I changed it after that, you know.”

 

“Now that you mention it, your hair was different the second time we got together. What made you change it?”

 

“You saying that it looked stupid.”

 

“So just like that you just changed it? For me? That's very sweet in a weird way.”

 

Hansol reached up his hand and placed it on the back of Seungkwan's neck, he gently pushed him down so their lips could meet. Seungkwan wasn't too worried about being outside. They were away from the public eye after all. So he kissed him back. He could still taste the spiciness of the food they had earlier on Hansol's lips. He made sure to kiss him until the lingering taste of food was gone and all that he tasted was Hansol. He'd choose that over food any day.

 

There was a ruffling sound coming from somewhere. It could have easily been nothing, but it was enough for Seungkwan to get distracted and look up, “Did you hear something? I swear I heard something.”

 

“Probably just a squirrel or something.” Hansol tried to get Seungkwan to continue making out with him, but instead Seungkwan shot up straight.

 

“There are squirrels here!?” He frantically looked around with wide eyes.

 

“Yeah, probably...why are you freaking out?”

 

“I-I'm not _freaking out_. Squirrels are just...evil. All rodents are evil. I had a hamster once and it tried to kill me.”

 

Hansol just blankly stared at his boyfriend and blinked, “Squirrels are evil and a hamster tried to kill you? Aren't you being a bit over-dramatic?”

 

“No! I had a pet hamster and it was always glaring at me and following my every move. It was definitely plotting my death. And a hoard of squirrels attacked me when I was little. _Evil_.”

 

Hansol tried to suppress his laugh but he couldn't help chuckle at his weird boyfriend. “It's getting pretty late anyway. Wanna get out of here?” He stood up and held out a hand to help pull Seungkwan up, “Before the squirrels attack.”

 

Seungkwan glared at him, but took his hand anyway.

 

“By the way, are you aware of the fact that there is a hole in your shoe?” Seungkwan pointed out once they were out in the park again, slowly walking back in the direction of the parking lot.

 

Hansol looked down. “Oh yeah. They're pretty old, but they're very comfortable so...” He didn't want to mention how he only had two pairs of shoes. Both of them old and used to the point where they were more tear than wear.

 

“We should go shopping next time. I'll buy you some really nice shoes.”

 

Hansol didn't reply. He spotted an ice cream cart nearby and changed the topic quickly. “Do you want ice cream? What flavor do you like?”

 

“Choco-mint! It's the best flavor. Obviously. And here,” he reached for his wallet and handed Hansol money to pay for the ice cream. He raised his eye brows in question when he didn't take it.

 

“Stop it.” Hansol said with a stern voice. “Stop trying to pay for everything.”

 

“I was just-”

 

“And I don't need you to buy me new shoes either.”

 

“Why are you getting mad? I'm just trying to be nice, it's no big deal.”

 

Hansol knew that was probably true, but Jun's voice in the back of his head saying that Seungkwan was used to the best of the best made him doubt things. “Money is never a big deal when you have it. I know I can't afford much and this hasn't been like a fancy date or anything, so if that isn't good enough for you-”

 

“What are you talking about? I'm only offering to pay _because_ I have more money and-.”

 

“Don't you get how that makes me feel? _I_ planned this date. If I ask you if you want ice cream I don't want you to pay for it. I know I'm poor, but I won't offer you anything I can't give you.”

 

“I'm sorry. I didn't think...You've just been so sweet and great and I just wanted to repay you somehow and I don't know what else I can-.”

 

“Repay me? Seungkwan, this isn't a business transaction or something. Can't a man just take his boyfriend out because he wants to? I'm not dating you to get things from you except just you.” He turned around and started walking again, “I'm not in the mood for ice cream. Let's just go back.”

 

His pace was quicker than before but he slowed down again once Seungkwan caught up and he felt him intertwine their fingers.

 

“Is it okay? People might see.”

 

“I know, but...I just really wanted to hold your hand right now.”

 

Hansol didn't say anything else, he just squeezed his boyfriend's hand and continued their stroll back to the car. People didn't notice or didn't care about them holding hands. Or maybe it was them who didn't notice or care about other people this time.

 

When they reached the parking lot and Hansol was about to open the car Seungkwan let out an excited yell. “Ah! Look! There's a photo booth over there. Come one, we're taking pictures. We have zero photos of us together.” He dragged Hansol over to the booth and took out his wallet again to get some coins.

 

“Since I suggested it, it's okay if I pay this one, right?”

 

Hansol shook his hand and chuckled, “Yeah, go ahead. Especially since we could just take pictures with our phones for free.”

 

“It's not the same. Now get in.”

 

The first picture was cute. The second picture was a kiss on the cheek. The third picture a kiss on the lips. They didn't even notice the fourth picture being taken. The heat in the small booth rose quickly. Hansol's hand slid under Seungkwan's shirt as his tongue was busy exploring his mouth, but before it went any further Seungkwan stopped him.

 

“What's wrong?” Hansol asked, slightly out of breath.

 

“Nothing. Nothing is wrong. It's just...never mind.”

 

“No, what is it?”

 

“I just...don't want to do it in a photo booth.”

 

Hansol nodded in thought and asked, “What about in a car? We can drive to one of the lookout points close to the forest edge. I'm sure we can find a place without people.”

 

Seungkwan nodded hesitantly and followed him to the car. During the ride up to the lookout point Seungkwan was quiet. Hansol just thought he was a bit nervous and didn't think anything else of it.

 

As predicted it wasn't difficult to find a spot with no other people around. The sun was setting, but it was cloudy by now so there wasn't much of a view.

 

“Let's move to the backseat. More space.” While Hansol was clumsily climbing over the seats to get to the backseat, Seungkwan simply got out off the car and went to the backseat through the door.

 

“Ah, yes. That would have been easier.” Hansol laughed. His smiled disappeared as he moved closer to Seungkwan. “Doesn't matter. We're both here now anyway.” He started kissing him and gently pushed him down on the backseat. It didn't take him long to move his hand under his shirt again. Seungkwan wasn't kissing him back as enthusiastically as he had before and was being very passive overall, which was unlike him. Hansol started to unbuckle Seungkwan's belt, but stopped when he felt him flinch. He broke their kiss and looked at him, still hovering over him.

 

“Is something wrong?”

 

Seungkwan looked away and bit his bottom lip like he wasn't sure what to say.

 

“Seungkwan?”

 

“I...I don't want to do it.”

 

“Oh...” Hansol sat back up, giving Seungkwan space to do the same. “Did the date suck? Are you mad at me?”

 

“What? No, it was great, really. I just...now that we're really together I'd like to take it slow.”

 

“We've already done it like a hundred times though?”

  
“I know, but it's different. Now it's not just about sex and...well...it makes me nervous or something. I just don't want to force it.” Looking at Hansol's slightly confused and disappointed face made all of Seungkwan's insecurities burst to the forefront and he let out a nervous laugh, “You know what? Forget I said anything, let's just do it.”

 

“No, hey, come on. If you feel like you want to wait and take things slow that's what we'll do.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Of course. Why didn't you just say so before?”

 

“I dunno...” Seungkwan mumbled, “I guess I was afraid you'd get mad at me or something.”

 

“If I ever get mad at you for being honest about not wanting sex you can punch me. In the balls.”

 

Seungkwan looked up with an amused look on his face, “How romantic.”

 

“I'm serious, Seungkwan. I'm sorry if I made you feel like you need to give me sex so I'll keep liking you or something. I want to have sex with you because I like you, I don't just like you because of sex. I know we did things a bit backward, but-”

 

“You didn't make me feel that way. It's just my own brain being...my brain.”

 

Seungkwan stared out the window and it was quiet for a few moments. Hansol stared at him, he looked a bit sad. “If only I had been honest about my feelings sooner.” Seungkwan spoke softly, “Maybe it would have prevented the whole motorcycle thing and my friends wouldn't hate me so much...”

 

Hearing Seungkwan talk about what had happened as if it was his fault even though it had been Hansol who had been stupid enough to ride a motorcycle through a house made him feel guilty about the rift it had caused between Seungkwan and his friends. Not knowing what to say he just reached out and held Seungkwan's hand. Seungkwan suddenly looked away from the window at the touch as if he had forgotten Hansol was even there with him. He smiled weakly and scooted over so he could put his head on Hansol's shoulder.

 

“Thank you for the date.”

 

“You're welcome.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Chan probably won the car in a poker game or bought it with money in a poker game or something  
> *Hansol didn't explain in the story but he knew the old man because he came to the garage he works at once with his classic car that he needed a part for.  
> *Okay that whole talk about squirrles...I don't even know tbh. I was just typing and it just happened, lol. There is a point to it...sort of...you'll see  
> *Was their little fight confusing? Seungkwan just felt like the only thing he has to offer Hansol is money, while all Hansol wants is Seungkwan himself. Hearing that made Seungkwan really happy, and the fact that Seungkwan was willing to hold Hansol's hand in public made Hansol happy. So...they both happy.  
> *Somehow it's almost always Hansol kissing Seungkwan first. Hmm...
> 
> Okay, the next one is not a good one for Seungkwan. My poor baby...why do I make him suffer T__T I'm already almost done writing it so the wait shouldn't be too long!
> 
> Thanks for all the love already so far! <3 
> 
>  
> 
> (P.S. I'm living for all of them being so active on instagram. Mingyu (Mingay?) is being his fabulous self and it's amazing. Fun fact: I made a mistake just now and instead of 'active on instagram' I typed 'active on Seungkwan'. lol)


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seungkwan's father wants to have a talk with him. It doesn't go so well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tadaa~ I actually cut this chapter in two parts because it was getting pretty long so the next one shouldn't be a long wait!
> 
> I just want to say: Even though the boys are of course somewhat based on their real life personalities and stuff, their parents in this story are NOT. There are a lot of unpleasant parents in this story and I'm sure that's not the case irl!
> 
> WARNING: this chapter has some homophobia and (mentions of) domestic violence!

The Rubies had decided to go out for dinner instead of ordering take-out for a change. Something they regretted when they saw Seungkwan's parents were at the same restaurant. They doubted he had told his parents about what happened, but it still felt somewhat uncomfortable seeing them there. Fortunately their table was quite far away and it seemed like they hadn't even noticed them. However, when they finished and got up they approached the boys' table.

 

“Good evening boys.” Seungkwan's mother greeted them. She was more friendly than his father, although, according to her son, her polite demeanor was mostly for keeping up appearances. “Isn't Seungkwan with you?” She inquired.

 

They all exchanged a look before Seungcheol answered her, “Not tonight. He's stuck at the library again.”

 

“Really?” She asked slightly surprised. “I saw him before he left. He looked way too nice for the library. He isn't out with his secret girlfriend, is he?” Her voice was teasing, but her eyes were not.

 

Soonyoung scoffed, “Yeah, right. Seungkwan with a _girlfriend_. Ow!” A sharp pain ran through his leg as someone kicked him under the table. It distracted him from seeing the way Seungkwan's father's mouth twitched in displeasure at his words.

 

“Come on, dear. Let's leave the boys to their night. Even if Seungkwan is not in the library I doubt they would tell his _parents_ about it.” Even though he sounded like he was joking his face was stern and his stare send a shiver down their spines. Seungkwan's father was a scary man.

 

As soon as they were gone Soonyoung shot his friends a dirty look. “All right who kicked me?”

 

“I did.” The other two answered in unison.

 

“Come on man, I know we're mad at him and all but you can't out him to his parents. That's just not cool.” Mingyu said.

 

“I didn't out him.” Soonyoung retorted with a scowl.

 

“You were hinting at things.” Seungcheol pointed out. “You know how his dad is.”

 

Soonyoung knew his friends were right. He was still mad, but he would never forgive himself if he outed Seungkwan to his parents, intended or not. He knew Seungkwan wouldn't either. Instead of admitting as much to his friends he said _whatever_ and got up to go to the restroom.

 

Mingyu shook his head and looked at Seungcheol. “How long do you think this is going to last? I mean, we're going to talk to him again eventually, right?”

 

“He just needs some more time.”

 

“Well he better hurry up because I'm getting sick of this whole situation.”  
  
“I know.”

 

“He still sends me weekly schedules you know.”

 

“Who does?”

 

“Seungkwan. You know how he always tries to help me keep up with my classes and homework and stuff and makes weekly schedules for me so I don't completely drown? He still sends them to me. He doesn't add any message like he used to, but...I feel terrible. And I miss him.”

 

Seungcheol nodded. “I do too.”

 

<>

 

Seungkwan came home one night. He and Hansol had gone to see a movie. They had been on several dates by now and Seungkwan was getting more comfortable with the thought of being seen in public. They still kept it very safe, but overall the atmosphere between them was very comfortable. He was about to go upstairs when he heard his father's voice calling him from his office.

 

“Seungkwan? Come in here. We need to talk.”

 

His father wanting to talk was never good. Seungkwan sighed. It had been such a good day. He wasn't in the mood for his father to spoil that. Nevertheless, his night would definitely be ruined if he didn't listen to his father, so he went into his office. His father's face was grim. He never looked particularly happy to begin with, but he seemed even more displeased than usual.

 

“Where have you been?” He was sitting behind his desk with his hands folded under his chin. He looked straight at his son.

 

“Just to see a movie.” Seungkwan felt uneasy. His father never showed any interest in what he was doing unless it somehow directly affected him or his reputation.

 

“With who?”

 

Seungkwan furrowed his eyebrows together. “Just with a friend, why?”

 

“What friend?”

 

“Does it matter?”

 

“Answer the question.”

 

“It's a new friend. You don't know him.” At this point Seungkwan was no longer looking directly at his father, but he could feel his eyes fixed on him.

 

“How do you know him?”

 

“Why are you suddenly so interested in my friends? You never cared before.” Going against his father was never a good idea, but he couldn't just reveal who he had been hanging out with. Even though the heavy feeling in the pit of his stomach told him his father already knew the answers to the questions he was asking his son.

 

“Don't talk back to me, Seungkwan. Tell me. This new _friend_ of yours, is that all he is?”

 

“What do you mean?” Seungkwan's heart started to pound faster, he did not like where this was going.

 

“You know what I mean. Answer me.”

 

“Of course. What else would he be?” It left a bad taste in Seungkwan's mouth to say it, but he knew his father. Coming out was not a good idea.

 

His father calmly opened his desk drawer and took out a thick folder that he placed on his desk and shoved in his son's direction, “Care to explain _this_ then?”

 

Hesitantly Seungkwan picked up the folder and opened it. His eyes widened as he saw the pictures that were inside. All of him. Most of them with him _and_ Hansol. Him and Hansol walking. Him and Hansol holding hands. Smiling at each other. Kissing in the car. Lying on the grass on their first date in the old man's backyard.

 

“Y-you had me followed?”

 

“That's not the issue here. What exactly is your relationship with this young man?” He got up as he spoke and walked around his desk to get closer to his son.

 

“Like I said...he's my friend.” He mumbled in reply. His father towered over him and Seungkwan felt particularly small right now.

 

Anger flashed across his father's face. “Don't lie to me, Seungkwan! _Friends_ don't hold hands like this.” he angrily tapped the folder of pictures still in Seungkwan's hands. “ _Friends_ don't _kiss_ each other.” Disgust dripped from his voice and it cut Seungkwan like a knife.

 

He swallowed slowly before he spoke up, “He...He's my boyfriend.”

 

His father slammed his fist on his desk and Seungkwan flinched at the outburst.

 

“I was afraid you were going to say something so _stupid_. How long has this been going on? No, you know what. I don't even want to know. It's over now. You're never to see him again.”

 

The thought of never seeing Hansol again was scarier than his father was and Seungkwan wasn't about to just roll over and do as he was told. Not about this. “I'm not going to stop seeing him just because you-”

 

His father didn't let him finished. “I am your father and you'll do as I say.”

 

“You can't just-”

 

“Be quiet!” His father bellowed, his face dangerously close to Seungkwan's. He was breathing heavily, but he took a step back and composed himself. “Now. Tomorrow I will call the university to tell them you're sick and need to take a short leave of absence. I will have them send you recordings of any classes you'll miss and your assignments so you won't fall behind.”

 

“Why?”

 

His father handed him a pamphlet that had apparently been on his desk. Seungkwan was the one filled with disgust this time. “Is this a gay conversion camp?”

 

“You're leaving first thing tomorrow.”

 

“No, I'm not. You can't make me!”

 

“The hell I can't! You are going and that's final! What were you thinking starting a _relationship_ with a man? Holding hands, kissing. We need to get this under control before it goes any further than that.”

 

“It's a little late for that.” Seungkwan's mouth spoke before he had thought it through. This wasn't one of the times he regretted it though. He had been scared of his father's anger, but now his own anger was bigger than his fear.

 

His father's eyes narrowed. “Excuse me?”

 

“It's already gone way beyond kissing, father. _All_ the way beyond.”

 

“How dare you talk to me in this way!”

 

But Seungkwan didn't stop, he was overcome with feelings of anger and injustice and his mouth kept moving. “We've done it many times. In lots of places. All of the family hotels and-”

 

It took a moment before Seungkwan realized what had happened. His cheek was pulsating and he tasted blood in his mouth. His father had hit him. His father had yelled at him before, he had gotten angry at him before, but this was the first time he had actually laid hands on him.

 

“Get out. I can see you are beyond help and I don't want someone like you in my house.”

 

Seungkwan didn't say anything. He didn't have to be told to leave. It's not like he wanted to stay. He stormed out. The pamphlet still crumbled up in his hand.

 

<>

 

Without thinking about where he was going he drove his car to the Carrot hangout. He had no other place to go. He couldn't go to his own friends, he couldn't stay in one of the hotels, he still didn't know Hansol's exact address. They always met somewhere else. The light was on inside so he figured at least someone was there. He knocked, hoping Hansol would open the door. It was Jisoo instead.

 

“Oh, hey Joshua. Is Hansol here?”

 

“No, he isn't.”

 

“Oh...okay thanks, I'll just leave then. Sorry.”

 

Jisoo sighed. He didn't really like Seungkwan, but he could see he wasn't all right. “Seungkwan, do you want to come in? I'll call him and tell him you're here.”

 

<>

 

Hansol was going well passed the speed limit, but when Jisoo called him telling him Seungkwan had just showed up at their hangout looking less than okay he just wanted to be there as soon as he could. When he arrived he found Seungkwan sitting in the corner of the couch, an untouched cup of tea in front of him, blankly staring at his hands that were on his lap. Jun and Chan were gaming as if nothing strange was going on, but Hansol could tell there was an awkward tension in the air. He was approached by Jisoo when he walked in.

 

“What's going on? What happened?” Hansol asked him quietly so Seungkwan wouldn't hear.

 

“I don't know. He just showed up here looking for you. When I told him you weren't here he was going to leave, but I told him he could come in. He hasn't said anything. Jun made him some tea, but he hasn't really moved and I don't think he wants to talk to us three.”

 

Hansol placed a hand on Jisoo's arm and gave it a soft squeeze, “Thanks man. I'll take it from here.” He walked over to the couch and sat down next to his boyfriend. Chan paused the game and he and Jun joined Jisoo in the corner of the room. Far away enough to seem like they were respecting their privacy, but close enough so they could still actually hear what they were saying.

 

“Seungkwan?” Hansol asked softly, “What's going on?”

 

“He had me followed.” Seungkwan said with a slightly cracked voice, eyes still on his lap.

 

“Who? What are you talking about?”

 

“My father. He had me followed and he found out about you and me. I denied it at first, but then he showed me all these pictures and I just...”

 

Hansol didn't say anything. He could see Seungkwan was struggling to tell the story, so all he did was place a hand on his arm and wait for him to continue.

 

“I admitted that you are my boyfriend and he freaked out. He started screaming at me about how I could never see you again and that I had to take a leave of absence to...he...” Seungkwan needed a moment to suppress a sob, “He wanted to send me to a gay conversion camp.”

 

“Shit, seriously? All my old man did was beat the shit out of me.” Hansol lifted Seungkwan's chin gently and turned his head so he could look at his cheek, “But I see yours didn't leave you completely unharmed either.”

 

Seungkwan had successfully held back his tears up until this point, but they were stinging his eyes and he didn't think he could hold them back much longer. Seungkwan's heart ached at the thought of Hansol getting beat up by his father. Hansol saw Seungkwan trying his best not to cry, but he reached out his arms and wrapped him in a gentle hug. “Shh, come here.”

 

Seungkwan buried his face in Hansol's chest en grabbed his shirt tightly. “Shh, it's okay.” Hansol whispered and ran a hand over Seungkwan's hair. He looked over at his three friends in the corner of the room and used his head to gesture to the fridge. Jun seemed to get what he was trying to say and he brought him some crushed ice wrapped in a kitchen towel. Hansol gently pushed Seungkwan up and lifted his chin again. He tried to put the ice on his cheek as carefully as he could, but Seungkwan still winced at the touch.

 

“It hurts...”

 

“I know. I'm sorry. But if we don't cool it now it's going to swell up.”

 

The room was silent for a while as Hansol kept the ice on Seungkwan's face.

 

“You never told me that.” Seungkwan said softly.

 

“Hm?”

 

“About your dad...that he beat you when he found out you were gay.”

 

Hansol shrugged his shoulders. “It wasn't the first time. It might have been the worst time though. Anyway, it doesn't matter.”

 

“It does matter. And it's not okay either.” Hansol let out a small yelp when Seungkwan suddenly wrapped his arms around him and pulled him into a tight hug. “I'm so sorry your dad did that to you.”

 

The other three in the room looked at the scene. Seungkwan comforting Hansol about something that had happened years ago when he had just been through a lot himself. They looked at each other and even though none of them said anything they all knew they accepted Seungkwan now as opposed to just tolerating the relationship he had with one of their own.

 

Hansol untangled himself from the hug and put the ice back on Seungkwan's cheek. “It wasn't all bad. I ran away after that. I lived on the street for a few weeks until-”

 

“Sol, stop depressing him with your backstory. Don't you think he has enough to deal with right now?” Chan stepped in surprised both men sitting on the couch. He turned his attention to Seungkwan who looked at him surprised, he wasn't sure if he had ever spoken to him directly after tying him to a chair. “Look, kid. I know this must be hard, but maybe it's better to get out now.”

 

Seungkwan raised an eyebrow, “Did you just call me kid? I'm older than you.”

 

“My point is,” Chan continued, ignoring Seungkwan's comment, “look on the bright side.”

 

“Ah yes, the bright side. Let me see. My father, like my friends, now hates me and I have nowhere to live. Oh and I have nothing since I just walked out without anything. Oh no wait, I have this wonderful pamphlet about how I, too, can be cured of my homosexuality. I guess I can just go and live there.”

 

“You can live with me.”

 

Seungkwan turned to look at his boyfriend in surprise. “What?”

 

“My place is a bit of a dump and probably about the size of your closet, but we can make it work.”

 

“A-are you sure?”

 

“Of course I'm sure. Besides, where else are you going to go, Boo Seungkwan?”

 

<>

 

After a short ride on Hansol's motorcycle they arrived at his apartment building. It looked old and in serious need of some maintenance. The light above the building entrance was flickering and it smelled like garbage. Hansol parked his bike and held open the door inside. “It's on the second floor, follow me.”

 

Seungkwan followed Hansol closely. He had never been in such a disheveled place before. They arrived at the door to Hansol's apartment and just as he was wondering if the state of this place was any indication to how safe it was Seungkwan jumped at the sound of a loud yell coming from the apartment across the hall.

 

“That's just my drunk neighbor.” Hansol explained in a way Seungkwan supposed was to make him feel better, “He's loud but mostly harmless. If you ever bump into him in the hallways just ignore him.”

 

“Okay.” Seungkwan said softly before following Hansol inside. He hadn't been kidding when he said his apartment was small. Of course it didn't help that half of the floor was covered in clothes and other stuff. The small open kitchen was a mess and the table was covered with random papers, tissues, and who knew what else. Seungkwan closed the door behind them and stood awkwardly near the entrance.

 

Hansol walked over to the kitchen and gesture to a chair. “Come in. You can sit if you want. Sorry it's such a mess, I don't really have people over.” He opened the fridge and started rummaging around in it, “Do you want something to eat? I'm sure I have something that's still edible somewhere in here.”

 

Seungkwan walked over and placed a hand on the back of the chair but didn't sit down. “No...that's okay. We already ate, remember?”

 

“Oh, right.” It seemed so long ago they had gone to the movies together, but it had only been a few hours. Hansol closed the fridge again and leaned against it. “A lot happened tonight and you must be tired. Maybe we should just go to bed?”

 

“Yeah...” He hesitated for a moment, but then he asked, “Hansol? Can I ask you something first?”

 

“Sure.”

 

“If you don't want to talk about it, that's okay, but I was just wondering what happened after your dad...after you left home?”

 

“Oh.” Hansol stood up straight. It wasn't that he didn't want to tell the story, it's just that he didn't think Seungkwan would want to talk about it right now. “Well, like I said I left and having nowhere to go I survived on the streets for a few weeks. It was summer so it wasn't very cold. Not that I would recommend it. Sleeping under a bridge isn't very comfortable, even if you don't have a few busted ribs.”

 

Seungkwan didn't want to start crying and make Hansol comfort him while telling him this must be hard for him, so he just sat down on the chair and listened in silence.

 

“Anyway. I still had my phone with me, but charging it was a bit of a challenge. One day I charged after a few days of not looking at it and I had a message from Jisoo asking me to meet with him. I hadn't seen him since I left home, but I'd sent him a few messages lying about where I was. When I met with him he saw right through me. I guess he must have told his parents everything because that evening they found me and took me home with them. They told me I could live with them. I refused at first because I didn't want to be a bother, you know. But the appeal of a roof over my head, food, clothes, was too big. Plus Jisoo told me he wouldn't forgive me if I went out on the streets again, so.” Hansol shrugged. “I moved out once I turned eighteen though. They told me I didn't have to, but I really started to feel like a mooch.”

 

“How old were you?” Seungkwan asked.

 

“When I ran away? Fifteen.”

 

Seungkwan stood up and walked over. He took one of Hansol's hands and smiled sweetly. “Jisoo's parents sound nice.”

 

“Yeah, they're the best. They never made me feel like a nuisance and they completely accepted me for who I am.”

 

“Maybe I should come out to Jisoo's parents then.”

 

Hansol laughed, “You should. I'd like for you to meet them someday. I'm sure they'll like you.”

 

He gave Seungkwan a quick kiss on the lips. “And since when did you start calling him Jisoo instead of Joshua?”

 

Seungkwan shrugged, “I dunno, you always call him that. Is it not allowed or something?”

 

“It's fine. Now...” Hansol stretched his arms out, “bed?”

 

Seungkwan nodded and let Hansol take him by the hand to show him the bedroom.

 

“So, I know you have no clothes, but you can just wear something of mine tonight or sleep in your boxers or something and we'll go pick up some of your stuff tomorrow. Do both of your parents work?”

 

Seungkwan had almost forgotten about how he had nothing and hadn't really thought about going back to his house. But it was probably a good idea to get at least some things, “My mom doesn't, but she has a very busy social calendar.”

 

“Okay, cool. So we make sure we go when no-one is home. Do you want to shower before going to bed?”

 

“If it's okay I'll shower in the morning.”

 

“Whatever you want, Boo.”

 

“And do you have a shirt or something I can borrow to sleep in? I don't really like to sleep in just boxers.”

 

“Sure.” Hansol walked over to a door and revealed what seemed to be a small closet behind it. “Just gimme a sec, I'll find one.” After a bit of searching (the closet, like the rest of his apartment, was a mess) he pulled out a big shirt from what seemed to be some sort of heavy metal band and handed it to Seungkwan. “It's probably way too big. My boss at the garage gave me a box of old clothes once and well...he's a big guy.”

 

“It's fine.” Seungkwan smiled as he took the shirt from Hansol. “It's just for sleeping anyway.”

 

They both changed for bed. Hansol was done in about ten seconds, dumping his clothes on the floor and picking up a random shirt from the floor that he used as pajamas. Seungkwan, on the other hand, carefully folded his clothes and put them on an empty spot near the wall. Hansol watched him from the bed. It almost felt surreal seeing Boo Seungkwan in his bedroom like this. He waited for him to join him in bed, but Seungkwan stood in the middle of the room looking unsure of himself. Hansol chuckled. “What are you doing Boo Seungkwan? Get in the bed.”

 

Seungkwan fiddled with the hem of the oversized shirt, “I just...wasn't sure if it's okay. I don't want to intrude on your sleeping space. I can sleep on your couch.”

 

Hansol held out his hand, “Don't be silly. Come here. I had too much space anyway.”

 

Seungkwan doubted that but gingerly reached out his hand to hold Hansol's, but he didn't get in the bed. He just stared at him. Hansol stared back. “I love you.” Seungkwan's voice was barely more than a whisper, but Hansol heard him.

 

“I love you too.” For a moment they just continued to stare at each other, but then suddenly Hansol pulled Seungkwan onto the bed, causing him to fall on top of him. He quickly wrapped his arms tightly around him and swayed him from side to side. He couldn't count the times he had wanted to do that, but he never did because he knew that it wasn't something people who just sleep together would do. But he was his boyfriend now and he was going to hug Boo Seungkwan all he wanted. His Boo Seungkwan.

 

“Do you mean it?” Seungkwan asked softly once Hansol stopped swaying him around and loosened his grip.

 

“What?”

 

“That you love me?” Seungkwan put his head down on Hansol's chest.

 

“I do,” he replied and stroked his hair gently. He could hear Seungkwan sniffing quietly. “I'm sorry you have to live in this crappy apartment with me instead of with your family, Kwannie.”

 

“I'm not.” Seungkwan lifted his head and propped up his chin on Hansol's chest so he could look up at him. He placed his hands on either side of him and raised himself up so his lips could find Hansol's. He gave him a chaste kiss and pulled back and looked at him. Their eyes met. Seungkwan leaned back down again.

 

That night they made love. The term 'making love' usually made Seungkwan throw up in his mouth a little, but there was no better way to describe what they did that night. It was the first night they spent together after both admitting to their feelings. The pace was slow, the touches tender, and the I love yous whispered.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *I know how in movies/tv shows they often use like frozen peas or a steak to put on someone's face after they've been hit, but let's be real here, these boys don't cook. They only had ice for their drinks xD  
> *It's time for the Rubies to get their shit together!  
> *I hope SK's father will leave them alone, but I haven't decided yet.  
> *So...they're living together now. How about that.  
> *Seungkwan's beautiful face T___T 
> 
> Leave me a comment <3


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seungkwan and Hansol go to pick up some of Seungkwan's things. Some other stuff happens too (A++ summary)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eek, it's been longer than I had intended! But I have a visitor and work started again so I've been busy (oh and I went to VIXX concert and N sat down next to me for about 2 seconds so I think I'm dead)

The next morning Hansol woke up first. Seungkwan had one leg wrapped around him. The bruise on his cheek had gotten darker and Hansol hoped it would fade soon. He had hated his own dad for hitting him, but he didn't even have words for how he felt seeing Seungkwan like this. If he'd ever run into Seungkwan's father he wasn't sure what he would do to him. He carefully moved Seungkwan's leg so he wouldn't wake him and got out of bed.

 

He boiled some water for his instant coffee and shoved a bunch of papers out of the way so he had a place for his mug on the small table. He almost choked on his coffee when Seungkwan walked out of the bedroom a few minutes later. Eyes still heavy with sleep, messy hair, and the shirt that was way too big on him. He looked so darn cute.

 

Seungkwan rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and sat down across from Hansol. “Why are you staring at me like that? Is it because I look all puffy and unwashed?”

 

Hansol got up and walked over to him. He planted a kiss on his good cheek and smiled, “You're adorable. Coffee?”

 

“Always. It's not even a question.”

 

“I don't have much for breakfast, but I can go out and get some. What time do you want to go pick up your stuff? Your car is still over at the hangout, so we should probably get it first.”

 

“Oh, ehm, my dad should already be at work and it's Friday, right? My mom usually has her book club at eleven so she's probably gone by ten thirty. Don't you have work today?”

 

“I do, but I called my boss and he said it was okay if I come in later and just work the hours I missed after closing. There's always work to do even without customers. He's going to cover the shop for now.”

 

“You have a nice boss.”

 

“Yeah, he's all right. I just wish he could pay me more or give me more hours, but it is what it is. That's why I also work some other odd jobs here and there.” He got up and took his keys from the table. “Anyway, why don't you finish your coffee and take a shower and I'll go pick up your car.” Hansol said as he put a cup of coffee in front of him on the table.

 

“We don't have to go today if it's a bother to change your work and get the car and-”

 

“Seungkwan. I can understand you don't want to go, but, despite the fact that I could just eat you up with the way you're dressed right now, I really don't have enough clothes for the both of us. If either of your parents are there we'll leave right away, okay?”

 

<>

 

They arrived at Seungkwan's house and Hansol stared at the size of it. He knew Seungkwan's family was rich, but he didn't know they were huge-fountain-on-the-driveway-rich. He followed him inside and it almost felt impossible to him that Seungkwan went from _this_ to his crappy apartment.

 

“Holy shit, Seungkwan.” Was all he could say as he looked around the entrance of the house.

 

Seungkwan was looking around anxiously and told Hansol to shush. He thought there was no-one there and approached the stairs when he saw someone moving from the corner of his eye. For a second he was afraid it was his father, but he found it was the head of their household staff. An older woman who always looked quite stern, but had never been unkind to Seungkwan. She looked at him, but didn't say anything. She also looked at Hansol who gave her a small awkward wave before she turned around and walked away without saying a word or even really acknowledging their presence.

 

“Was that your mom?” Hansol whispered, “She doesn't really look like you, no offense.”

 

Seungkwan rolled his eyes, “Of course that wasn't my mom, didn't you see the uniform? She runs household affairs around here. I guess she was instructed not to talk to me or something.”

 

“Oh...well, at least she didn't tell us to leave either. Let's go to your room quickly so we can get out of here. Not to be rude, but this place makes me very uncomfortable. Like...it's so big and spacious and yet I feel like it's suffocating me.”

 

Seungkwan sighed, “Imagine living here your whole life.” He guided Hansol up the stairs and to his room. He scoffed as he entered.

 

“What?”

 

Seungkwan pointed to the set of suitcases in the middle of the room. “I guess they expected me to come pick up some stuff.”

 

“There's a note on it.” Hansol pointed out.

 

Seungkwan took it and read it out loud: “ _Seungkwan, use these suitcases to take some of your things. Since you've decided to pursuit a lifestyle that we can't support I think you can understand we can no longer support you financially either. Your father has blocked your credit cards. I've convinced him to let you finish college, but that's the best I can give you. It's probably best if you don't come here as long as you insist on leading a homosexual lifestyle. I hope you'll reconsider going to the facility your father suggested. I really think they can help you. We only want what's best for you. Think about the kind of life you're choosing now. If you won't change your ways, please think of our reputation too and keep your lifesyle to yourself.”_

 

By the end of it he was shaking. He wasn't sure if he was more angry or sad. Hansol took the note from him and put it away. “Come on, let's get your stuff and get out of here so we can go and live our homosexual lifestyle.”

 

Seungkwan did most of the packing since Hansol had no idea what he wanted to bring anyway. He mostly looked around and handed Seungkwan things whenever he asked for it. The neat and organized room was a sharp contrast from his messy apartment and Hansol felt the gap between the different lives he and his boyfriend had lived up to this point. He stopped to look at a pinup board on the wall next to Seungkwan's desk. It was covered with photos of Seungkwan and the rest of the Rubies. He wasn't sure if Seungkwan would want these, but he was afraid to bring up the topic of his friends. He was still looking at the happy faces in the pictures when he felt Seungkwan next to him. He didn't say anything, but Seungkwan reached out and removed all the pictures from the board. He made a neat pile of the photos and walked over to the suitcases to put them in one of the compartments.

 

The whole packing took a lot longer than Hansol would have thought, but then again, Seungkwan had a lot more stuff than Hansol could have imagined. He had a hard time narrowing it down to the limited space of his car and suitcases. When they were all packed and ready to leave Seungkwan took a look at his room and let out a big sigh he had been holding in.

 

“Are you okay?” Hansol asked carefully.

 

“Yeah. No. I mean, I guess. It's just weird, you know. My whole life packed in two suitcases.”

 

“Don't forget the stack of books on the backseat.”

 

<>

 

When they got back to the apartment and dragged all of Seungkwan's things upstairs it was really time for Hansol to leave for work. He didn't really want to leave his boyfriend alone right now, but he couldn't afford to not go to work. “Listen, I'll be home pretty late I think. Will you be okay all by yourself?”

 

“I'm not a child, Hansol. I think I'll be able to manage a few hours without you.”

 

“Just checking.” He leaned in and placed a quick peck on Seungkwan's lips.

 

Seungkwan watched Hansol's back as he walked out the door. He sighed. He almost let himself fall into a pit of self-pity, but he told himself to suck it up and do something useful. He looked around the messy apartment and knew how he was going to fill his time without Hansol. He took a deep breath of determination, rolled up his sleeves and got to work.

 

Hansol got home late that night. He wasn't sure if Seungkwan had eaten yet, so he picked up some food on his way home. When he opened the door he thought he had the wrong apartment for a minute. He walked to the table and was amazed at the fact he didn't need to shove anything out of the way before he could put down the pizza-box he was holding. He walked around, without having to step over anything, looking for Seungkwan. He was nowhere to be found however. He was almost starting to get worried when the door opened behind him.

 

“Oh, you're home! Welcome back.”

 

Hansol turned around and saw his boyfriend carrying a large bag of what seemed to be clothes. Seungkwan put the bag down on the couch. “Laundry.” He explained. “Obviously I didn't have a chance to fold it yet, but I had no idea what time you'd be home. I actually also have no idea what time it is. Besides this is the third load. You might not have that many clothes and towels and stuff, but you sure had a lot of them that needed to be washed.”

 

“Y-you went to the laundry room in the basement?”

 

Seungkwan rolled his eyes, “Don't sound so surprised. I know how to clean stuff.”

 

“No, yeah, that's not what I meant. I mean like...was it okay? You didn't run into any of my crazy neighbors?”

 

“It was fine. I met the neighbor from across the hall, but when I greeted him he just sort of grunted at me.”

 

“I told you to ignore him. He drinks a lot.”

 

“Well, I greeted him and got ignored instead. People.” Seungkwan opened the bag of clean clothes and started to take them out to fold them. “How was work?”

 

Hansol walked over to him. “Work was work. It was fine.” He took the shirt Seungkwan was about to fold from his hands and put it back down. “Do you...want to take a bath together? I know my bath is tiny, but we can fit. From the look of this place you've been busy all day.”

 

“Now that you mention it...I feel pretty gross. And I probably smell.”

 

Seungkwan felt his tired body relax in the hot water with his back pressed against Hansol's chest. He felt him nuzzling his hair. “Thank you for making the apartment so nice, Boo.”

 

“Not to be rude, but it wasn't that hard to make it nicer than what it was. It was a huge mess.”

 

“I don't just mean the cleaning. The fact that you're in my apartment already makes it a nicer apartment. Before I just thought of it as a place to sleep, but today for the first time since living here it felt like coming home.”

 

<>

 

Mingyu was busy finishing a painting he was making for Soonyoung to replace the one that got damaged when Seungcheol walked in.

 

“Mingyu, we're going to catch Soon in a good mood and tell him to get over his shit.”

 

Mingyu put down his brushes, “Finally. Why now?”

 

“I just heard from my dad that Seungkwan's dad kicked him out last week.”

 

“What!? Why?”

 

“He wasn't sure, my dad said he was being pretty vague. Something about Seungkwan making bad life choices.”

 

“Do you think his dad found out he's gay?”

 

“I think it's definitely possible and if that's the case we-”

 

At that moment the door flew open and Soonyoung entered. He dropped his bag near the entrance and sat down on the couch with an exaggerated sigh.

 

“I don't think he's in a good mood.” Mingyu whispered in Seungcheol's ear.

 

“What's wrong with you?” Seungcheol asked of him.

 

“I went to get coffee and I saw Seungkwan and Vernon. They were at the coffee place. Drinking coffee. Together.”

 

“I see. What did you do?”

 

“Nothing. They didn't even see me because I hid behind a fake plant and eavesdropped for a bit.”

 

“That's mature of you.” Seungcheol normally wasn't one for sarcasm, but his friend's childish behavior brought it out of him.

 

“Shut up.”

 

“And? What were they talking about that has you all huffy and annoyed.” Mingyu asked this time.

 

Soonyoung was quiet for a moment before he declared, “They are like the cutest couple ever.”

 

Seungcheol and Mingyu looked at each other in complete surprise. That was about the last thing they had expected him to say. “W-what?”

 

“The way that Vernon looks at Seungkwan...like he's looking at the most beautiful thing in the world and has momentarily forgotten how to breathe. And not just that. Seungkwan was freaking out about all his schoolwork and assignments and Vernon calmed him down. Like...he actually managed to calm down Seungkwan in stress mode. He did it super casually too. He was just like 'here Boo try this drink it's really good' and offered him a sip of his drink in the middle of one of Seungkwan's rants and it totally calmed him down. If one of us had done the same thing he probably would have snapped at us.” Soonyoung let out a deep sigh before he suddenly jumped up.

 

“Gays, we're going out!”

 

“Don't you mean guys?”

 

“I know what I said. Let's go.”

 

<>

 

The parking lot was empty except for one car, one motorcycle, and three people. Two on one side, one on the other.

 

“Can you guys speak in a language I can understand?” The youngest and smallest of the three asked the others in a demanding voice.

 

“Sorry, it's just easier to speak in Chinese, you know.” His friend replied, but he continued his conversation with the other man so that everyone could understand. “As I was saying, it just came in yesterday. It's top of the line. You're lucky to get it.”

 

The tall slender man leaned back against his motorcycle and scoffed. “Luck? More like money. You never want our business, so I'm guessing you guys are real desperate for cash.”

 

“We're happy to take the next best offer if you've changed your mind.”

 

He clicked his tongue in annoyance. “Let's just make the trade.”

 

The short man nodded and offered him a small brown package as he took an envelope from the other.

 

“Nice doing business with you. I guess.” He turned to his friend. “Come on, let's go. It's movie night.”

 

<>

 

Jisoo took the popcorn he just made from the microwave and carefully opened the hot bag, put the popcorn in a bowl and set it down on the coffee table in front of the TV. “Jun, what movie did you pick?”

 

“You'll see. By the way, Hansol. When is Seungkwan getting here? I think he'll really like this movie. Oh, maybe I should have picked a scarier movie so that he'll hold on to you when he gets scared, hehe.”

 

“Please no, I don't need my poor young eyes to see that.” Chan chimed in.

 

“Wait,” Hansol interrupted, “what do you mean what time is Seungkwan coming? You guys told me I wasn't allowed to invite him for our movie nights. Carrots only. Remember?”

 

“Oh yeah, I guess we did say that.” Jun said and he exchanged looks with Jisoo and Chan.

 

Chan shrugged, “Well, whatever. Just tell him to come over.”

 

About a half-an-hour later Seungkwan showed up. Hansol opened the door for him and let him inside. He looked at what his boyfriend was wearing and raised an eyebrow, “Are you wearing my hoodie?”

 

Seungkwan looked down at his clothes as if he had forgotten what he was wearing, “Oh yeah, I hope it's okay. I just wanted to wear something comfortable while working on some school stuff. When you called and told me to come over I forgot to change I guess.”

 

“It's fine, but that one is so old and it hasn't been washed in ages. Somehow you missed it with all the cleaning you did.”

 

“I didn't miss it. I just didn't wash it, because...well. Because it smells like you and it makes me feel calm.”

 

Hansol felt a blush coloring his cheeks and he quickly pulled Seungkwan to the couch and sat them both down so they could begin the movie. From the corner of his eyes he saw his friends laughing at how flustered he must have looked and he saw Chan mouthing the word _whipped_ to him.

  
As Seungkwan was watching the movie with Hansol and the other Carrots he felt happy because he felt accepted by them, but at the same time it really made him miss his own friends. He got a little closer to Hansol and held him a little tighter. They were all startled by a sudden loud knock on the door.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> +I don't know why I bothered to write that whole trading part without names, it might be super obvious what was happening and who the people were? lol  
> +Boo Seungkwan is adorable. Just. Okay.  
> +Okay so, I ended on a semi-cliffhanger I guess? But the Rubies are finally getting their shit together (and getting on that Verkwan ship).
> 
> +Verkwan Vlive!!  
> +Seventeen trolling Mingyu by all posting bananas (Here's what I imagined happened: Mingyu posted his banana pic on Insta, the rest saw it and were like 'lol why is he posting a banana, let's all copy him')


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Rubies come to hang with the Carrots.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow okay so that took a million years. I have struggled A LOT with this chapter and the end result is...well...not great? I just couldn't find the right flow or something >.>

Jisoo opened the door and stared right into a pair of eyes he recognized as belonging to one of Seungkwan's rude friends, S.Coups. Without saying a word the three Rubies walked past Jisoo and into the living room. Chan and Jun were on their feet immediately. Seungcheol smirked at them and cocked his head to the side, “Relax. We're not here for trouble.”

 

“Well you can't just barge in here, who do you think you are?” Jisoo asked from behind him, closing the door as he did. He didn't exactly like letting these people in like this but he didn't want a fight. Besides, he had a feeling of why they were here in the first place.

 

“Like I said. Relax. We brought beer.”

 

“And non of that supermarket swill you guys usually drink probably. We brought top of the line stuff.” Mingyu added as he raised his arm to show them the beer he was holding.

 

“Why?” Chan demanded to know.

 

“Well,” Soonyoung stepped forward and, for the first time since their arrival, looked at Seungkwan who was silent on the couch, still close to Hansol. “We've come to hang out. It's been too quiet without you, Seungkwan.”

 

“Yeah well, it can get pretty quiet when you ignore someone.”

 

Soonyoung averted his eyes, “I know. I'm sorry about that. I was pretty mad, you know. And you know me...I'm...”

 

“Stubborn? To a point where you push away your best friend even when he begs you to listen to him?”

 

“Well...yeah.” He turned his head back and met his friends eyes staring up at him.

 

He thought he would be more angry talking to Soonyoung again, but they had the type of friendship that didn't require a lot of words. Even if they'd never had a fight quite like this one before, Seungkwan wanted it to be over and done with. So he sighed and patted the empty space on the couch next to him. Soonyoung sat down with a shy smile and Seungkwan shook his head but smiled too.

 

“Hey ehm, Hoshi?” Hansol, peaking his head from behind the other side of Seungkwan, started. Soonyoung looked at him with an expressionless face. He might have accepted that Seungkwan liked this guy, but that didn't mean he was ready to like him too.

 

“I just wanted to apologize to you. I did a really stupid thing and I wasn't thinking. Seungkwan pointed out to me that even though you guys have a lot of money it doesn't mean you don't have things with emotional value too and...I'm sorry if I destroyed anything like that for you.”

 

“You did. But, well...for the sake of peace let's call it water under the bridge.”

 

They had a silent exchange of understanding nods between them, both of them knowing the only reason they called a truce was for Seungkwan's sake. Seungkwan knew this too, but he didn't care. He'd get them to like each other.

 

“Seungkwan.” Seungcheol said with a harsh voice, interrupting the fragile silence. It was the type of voice he only used when he was upset about something. “What happened to your face?”

 

Seungkwan just stared at his hands. He wasn't sure how to begin to tell what had happened. Not that he could have said anything, because Mingyu let out a small gasp and squeezed himself onto the couch (causing Soonyoung to fall off in the process). He reached for Seungkwan's chin and gently turned his face so his bruised cheek was facing him.

 

“Did your father do this?” Seungcheol asked. He didn't get an answer, but that told Seungcheol all he needed to know. He clicked his tongue and his fist was clenched on the side of his body. He had never particularly liked Seungkwan's father to begin with, but this really pissed him off.

 

“His father?” Soonyoung asked, still on the floor, “Why would his father do this?”

 

Seungcheol sighed. “We didn't tell you this before, but my dad told me that Seungkwan's dad kicked him out. He wasn't sure why, but-”

 

“Why didn't you tell me?” Soonyoung asked with anger in his voice. “When did this happen?”

 

“Last week, but I found out about it today. We were going to tell you right before you came home, but then you had already decided to go to Seungkwan anyway, so.”

 

“You still should have told me.”

 

Mingyu made a shushing sound in Soonyoung's direction and turned his attention to Seungkwan again. “Are you okay? What happened?”

 

“Yeah, I'm okay. He found out about me and Hansol and didn't take it so well.”

 

“Where are you staying? At one of the hotels?”

 

“N-no...I'm eeh...”

 

“He's staying with me.” Hansol spoke up. He couldn't quite explain it but he felt very...territorial all of a sudden.

 

“You're living together?” Mingyu asked with wide eyes.

 

“Don't worry Seungkwan,” Soonyoung said as he stood up from the floor, “you can come live with me. I'm sure his place is a dump, so-”

 

At this Hansol stood up from the couch and stared Soonyoung straight in the eyes.

 

“What?” Soonyoung asked with a taunting voice, “My place was better than yours even _after_ you ran your motorcycle through it.”

 

“Oh yeah? Well maybe Seungkwan likes living with someone who doesn't ignore him and accepts him for who he is instead of a crappy friend.”

 

“You want to say that again?”

 

They were dangerously close to each other and the tension between them was about to boil over when their staring contest was interrupted by the sound of a beer opening. It was almost comical how it broke the tense stare off and everybody turned to look at the source of the sound.

 

“Really, Chan?” Jisoo asked their youngest member who had just cracked open a beer.

 

“What? It's just standing there getting warm. They might want it back if Vernon kicks the loud one's ass.”

 

“Nobody is going to kick anyone's ass.” Seungcheol stepped in. “Soon, we did not come here to fight. Sit back down and have a beer. The little one is right, it's getting warm.” He picked up a beer and handed it to his friend who begrudgingly sat back down on the floor. He picked up another one and handed it to Hansol who hesitated for a moment but took it from him and sat back down next to Seungkwan. “Now,” Seungcheol addressed everyone in the room, “I think we can all agree that seeing as these two are pretty serious it's for the best if we all try to get along from now on. We don't have to become best friends or to even like one another, but let's at least try not to fight each other.”

 

“We can agree not to _start_ a fight, but if any of you pull some crap we won't hold back.” Jun answered.

 

“That seems fair.” Mingyu agreed.

 

“All right good. We all agree not to throw the first punch.”

 

“For the sake of getting along it might help if we all knew each other a little bit better. I suggest a quick round of introductions. Why don't you start, Seungcheol?” Jisoo suggested.

 

Caught off guard by the use of his real name Seungcheol blinked at Jisoo before he realized what he had even said. He coughed as to cover up the fact that being called by his name by the attractive man before him had him all flustered. “Right, yeah, sure, okay.”

 

Soonyoung, Seungkwan and Mingyu exchanged knowing looks. Seungcheol might think he was all cool and composed, but his friends could always tell when he was crushing on someone.

 

“So, ehm,” Seungcheol started, “You probably all know me as S.Coups but you can call me Seungcheol if you want. I'm studying business and I'm on the wrestling team. I also won't hesitate to ruin your face or your life in general if you come for one of my friends.” The last part seemed to be aimed specifically at Hansol.

 

“All right,” Jisoo spoke up next, “Call me Jisoo. Or pretty boy if you want.” He directed that last part directly to Seungcheol, but paid no mind to his reaction, “I'm currently trying to figure out what I'm going to do since I got expelled for mysterious reasons that Seungkwan has assured me wasn't any of you people's doing. I like expensive wine and hot tubs.”

 

It went quiet for a moment before Seungcheol nudged Soonyoung's shoulder. He sighed but introduced himself anyway. “Yeah eh, Hoshi. If you must you can call me Soonyoung. I'm a blast at parties.”

 

Again a moment of silence. It was clear that no-one in the room was really comfortable with this sudden mixture of their groups.

 

“Jun, why don't you say something.” Jisoo suggested. Jun looked like a deer caught in headlights but he soon found his coolness again and started his introduction in Chinese first. No-one had any idea what he said, but from the smug look on his face it sounded like he was praising himself (he was). “As I was saying. I am Jun, a handsome face from China. If you look in a mirror and think _wow who is that handsome man it can't be me_ it's most likely me, standing behind you being gorgeous.”

 

“o...kay. I'll go next.” Mingyu said as he looked at Jun with furrowed eyebrows of confusion. “Mingyu. Studying to become a doctor, but-” He was interrupted by Jun who had let out a laugh. “I'm sorry but you really don't seem like the doctor type.”

 

Seungcheol was about to defend him when Mingyu himself sighed, “I'm not. I'm so not. I don't even want to be a doctor, I just want to-” Suddenly he realized who he was talking to and cleared his throat. “...I want to stop talking. Oh and I like painting.”

 

“Don't forget you're a bit of a manslut.” Soonyoung added. Chan chuckled at that and Soonyoung slowly started to like the little man.

 

While Mingyu was busy glaring at his friend Chan decided to go ahead and introduce himself, “I'm Chan. My business is my business. Don't ask about it and we might just get along.”

 

“And I'm Boo Seungkwan and I'm perfectly fine living where I live right now.” Seungkwan ended the round of introductions. It caused an awkward silence where only the sipping on drinks could be heard until Soonyoung decided to break the tension.

 

“Okay, now that we're all better acquainted I demand some answers. How did this,” he gestured between Hansol and Seungkwan, “even happen?”

 

Seungkwan groaned, “Do we really have to talk about that?”

 

“Okay so I was on my way home from work one day when I saw-”

 

“Hansol!”

 

“What? Why can't I tell the story?”

 

Seungkwan sank back into the couch and fumbled with the hem of Hansol's hoodie. “It's embarrassing.”

 

“Why? Because you came to my neighborhood just to buy a scone or because you gave into me coming on to you super easily and you broke into your dad's hotel so we could have sex.”

 

Seungkwan stared at his boyfriend with an open mouth and an over-dramatic look of betrayal on his face.

 

“You went to that crappy neighborhood just to get food?”

 

“No! I was just lost I normally never go there!”

 

“He came to get scones. He was wearing a baseball cap, like that was going to prevent him from standing out.”

 

“Okay fine, I came to buy scones. But I was just minding my own business when Hansol suddenly came up to me and started hitting on me!”

 

“That's not true, I asked you what you were doing there first.”

 

“Wow wait.” Chan interrupted loudly. “ _You_ came onto _him_? Why would you do that?”

 

“Excuse me?” Seungkwan said offended.

 

“Relax I don't mean it in a 'why would anyone hit on you ever' kind of way. Hansol, didn't you care he was from another gang?”

 

Hansol shrugged his shoulders, “What can I say? I'm naturally drawn to him or something. I didn't mean to fall in love with him I was just looking to hook up with him. Wouldn't be the first time there has been some inter-gang banging.”

 

“Romantic” Seungkwan said sarcastically.

 

“Hey we would have become boyfriends way sooner had it been up to me. You were the one who-”

 

“When _did_ you fall in love?” Mingyu interrupted with intrigue and glee in his voice. He wasn't very good at hiding the fact he really was a romantic sap on the inside.

 

Hansol looked at his boyfriend and thought for a second, “Probably the moment he looked at me all confused and shocked when I asked him if he wanted to hook up.”

 

“R-really?” Seungkwan asked softly. He knew Hansol had accepted his feelings before Seungkwan had, but he didn't know his feelings had turned romantic so soon into their relationship.

 

“What about you, Seungkwan?”

 

“I dunno...can we talk about something else now. Give me a beer.”

 

“Awww look at you being all shy.” Mingyu wrapped his arms around him and rocked him. Seungkwan untangled himself and grabbed a beer and started drinking. The others joined.

 

<>

 

The beer was long gone and so was a part of the Carrot's liquor collection. The more they drank the more they all seemed to forget that they didn't really like each other. Seungcheol and Jun were caught up in some vintage game with Jisoo as their audience, Soonyoung was currently lying on the floor talking to Chan about their favorite artists, Hansol was staring at Mingyu and Seungkwan next to him on the couch. Mingyu had his arms wrapped around Seungkwan and they were catching up on the last few weeks apart. “Seungkwan, thank you for keep sending me schedules even-though I was being an asshole.”

 

“Well, I didn't want you to fail any more of your classes.”

 

Mingyu sighed and put his head on Seungkwan's shoulder, “It's no use. I'll fail anyway.”

 

Hansol was distracted from Mingyu and Seungkwan's interaction by a hand tapping on his leg. “Hey Vernon? Hansol? Versol?” Soonyoung was staring up at him from the floor. “Tell me something...is Seungkwan any good in bed?”

 

“Why the fuck would you ask that!?” Seungkwan yelled at him.

 

“As your best friend, I think I have a right to know.”

 

“Well you don't!”

 

Soonyoung (with a lot of effort and groaning) sat up and got closer to Seungkwan.

 

“Kwannie? Does your cheek still hurt?”

 

“Oh...ehm, a little...”

 

“I'm really sorry I wasn't there for you when your dad did what he did.”

 

“I know.”

 

Soonyoung wasn't very good with these heartfelt talks and he suddenly jumped up and announced to the room: “You know what we should do? Go to the W-8 club as a group and freak them out because we got them outnumbered.”

 

Seungcheol looked up from the game and nodded, “I'm up for it. I wouldn't mind seeing the looks on those guys' faces when we all come in as one group.”

 

Soonyoung scoffed, “Please, you just want to see Jeonghan.”

 

“Jeonghan?” Jun asked. “Isn't he Woozi's trophy wife?”

 

“If he is he cheats on him. Regularly. Doesn't he, Mingyu?” Soonyoung wiggled his eyebrows at Mingyu, but he only got a sour face in return. “Not lately he doesn't.”

 

“Aww did someone lose his booty call?”

 

“Whatever.”

 

<>

 

Some time later Jisoo decided it was time to call it a night. Soonyoung was passed out in their bathroom and Chan and Mingyu were trying to convince people to play strip poker. Seungcheol dragged his drunk friend to the car with the help of Mingyu and offered Hansol and Seungkwan a ride to their apartment. When they arrived Seungkwan didn't fail to notice the looks on his friends' faces (well, not Soonyoung who was passed out on the backseat against the window). They clearly had their doubts about Seungkwan living in this neighborhood, but they didn't say a thing. Hansol and Seungkwan went up to their apartment. As Seungkwan was brushing his teeth he realized he felt happier than he had in weeks. Perhaps in part due to the alcohol he had consumed, but mostly because he and his friends had made up and they had managed to spend time with Hansol in one room without getting into a fight. He went to the bedroom and started changing into his nightwear. Hansol, who had been ready for bed much quicker than Seungkwan, was already waiting for him. “That was some night.”

 

Seungkwan nodded, “Yeah, I guess it was.”

 

“Are you really okay? You forgave them pretty easily.”

 

“It's not like they're the only ones in the wrong. I just wanted my friends back.”

 

Hansol wrapped his arms around Seungkwan, “So...when did you fall in love with me?”

 

Seungkwan rolled his eyes trying to avoid having to answer, “Does it matter?”

 

“Not really, I'm just curious.” Hansol said as he nuzzled Seungkwan's neck.

 

“It's embarrassing...”

 

“Why?”

 

“It's just...” Seungkwan sighed, “If I tell you will you stop pestering me about it?”

 

“I promise.”

 

“Okay...it was just...I was...and you were...and I just looked up at you and you looked so beautiful and comfortable with me and the look you gave me was so...loving...and it was like my chest imploded, but in a good way. Except I was still totally denying my feelings for you so it didn't feel good afterward. But in the moment it did and I knew that I loved you.”

 

Hansol unwrapped his arms and turned Seungkwan around, “That sounds very sweet except you still haven't told me what we were doing. You were doing what and I was doing what? And why were you looking...up. Oh my god, don't tell me you were giving me a blowjob!?”

 

Seungkwan looked away, his cheeks flustered, “Maybe.”

 

“The first time you realized that you love me was with my dick in your mouth?”

 

“Maybe.”

 

“You don't just love me for my body, do you?” Hansol raised one eye brow.

 

“Of course not! It wasn't about that! It was about the feeling of closeness and the look you gave me and-”

 

“Seungkwan, I was kidding.” He placed his hands on Seungkwan's hips and looked at him intently, “But I have to say. I really feel like getting close to you right now. I very much want to know what you felt.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“What do you think I mean?” He started walking them towards the bed and gently pushed Seungkwan down onto it.

 

“O-oh.”

 

<>

 

They lay in bed together, Hansol had one arm around Seungkwan. The only light in the room came from the streetlights outside.

 

“So?” Seungkwan asked. “What did you think of my friends? I know you already kind of knew them, but what do you think now that you've really met them?”

 

“They're all right I guess. S.Coups is a bit scary, but he seems like he's more bark than bite. Hoshi is a funny guy. I can see why you two are friends.”

 

“And Mingyu?”

 

Hansol scoffed. “Mingyu.” he mumbled under his breath.

 

“W-what? Did he do something?”

 

“No. I just...I didn't get a good vibe from him, that's all.”

 

“Oh...” Seungkwan turned around in Hansol's arms so they were face-to-face, “He's a really good guy though. He's sweet and he cares about his friends a lot. He's a bit of a slut, I'll give you that, but-”

 

“Did _you_ ever sleep with him?”

 

“With Mingyu? Haha, no way. Why would you even think that?”

 

“I dunno...he was just sitting next to you all close and...hugging you and laughing...”

 

It took Seungkwan a moment to realize what was going on here because to him the thought of him and Mingyu together was just ridiculous. “Hansol, were you jealous of Mingyu? Is that why you don't like him?”

 

“I'm not jealous! He's just...okay yeah. I was jealous. And not just of him to be honest. I'm jealous of all your friends. They have so much history with you and they seem to know almost everything about you and it just made me realize how much I don't know.”

 

“Most of what they know isn't all that interesting.”

 

“I don't care. I want to know more about you. I want to know everything about you.”

 

Seungkwan smiled at him and placed a soft kiss on his lips. He snuggled closer and fell asleep thinking about how it was probably better Hansol didn't know everything about him.

 

<>

 

The next morning when he woke up Seungkwan picked up his phone to check the time. For the first time in weeks he had a lot of unread messages. All of his friends had sent him messages individually and he was re-added to the Ruby group chat. Because of the amount of messages it took him a moment to notice he was also added to another group chat, but this one had a few unknown numbers in it. There was one message from Soonyoung. _Hey guys, I thought it would be practical to have a group chat. See you later_. And one reply from a number Seungkwan didn't know. _Okay. See you Saturday._

 

Seungkwan poked a still sleeping Hansol in the side to wake him up. Hansol groaned but looked up at the phone Seungkwan was shoving in his face anyway.

 

“Do you know this number?”

 

Hansol yawned and sat up. “Yeah I think that's Chan's number.”

 

“Why does Soonyoung have it? I don't even have it!”

 

“I guess they exchanged numbers yesterday or something. What's happening on Saturday?”

 

“I don't know. I mean...he was talking about going to W-8 as a group, but I didn't think he was serious!”

 

“Looks like he was. Ah well, guess we're going to piss off the Daebak gang this weekend. Should be fun.”

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Fun fact: Jeonghan actually stopped sleeping with Mingyu after he noticed that Minghao has a crush on Mingyu.  
> *I don't even know...this chapter is a mess  
> *Even so....comments are very welcome as always <3  
> 
>  
> 
> Happy Halloween month~ I'm actually writing a SVT zombie story that I hope to finish before Halloween. It's very different from my other stuff...


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seungcheol pays Hansol a visit at work. The Carrots and Rubies go to the W-8 club together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> .....I have many excuses but I won't bother you with them. This chapter is way too small (okay 1 excuse: when I finally started writing again I found out I somehow missed a large part of what I had been writing).

Hansol was working on a car in the back when he heard the bell that rang when someone entered the shop. He quickly wiped his hands on an old rag and went to the front. He hadn't expected to find Seungcheol.

 

“What's up? Need an oil change?” he asked as he looked him over. Everything about his appearance didn't fit with the surroundings. His clothes looked too expensive, his hair looked too neat. There was no way this guy would come to this run-down garage for his car maintenance needs.

 

“I want to talk to you before we all go to W-8 tonight.” Seungcheol wasn't here to make small talk about cars.

 

“Ehm, okay.” Hansol leaned against a counter and waited for the other man to speak.

 

“I will pay you.” Seungcheol said with a serious tone of voice.

 

Hansol raised his eyebrows, not sure what Seungcheol was talking about. “Excuse me?”

 

“To break it off with Seungkwan. I'll pay you.”

 

Hansol scoffed and shook his head. He was really trying to give Seungkwan's friends a chance, but this shit wasn't helping.

 

“I'm serious. How much would it take?”

 

“What kind of friend are you?”

 

“The kind that wants what's best for his friends. You can't really think that being with _you_ is what's best for him? Living in that shithole you call home? No money? What about his future?”

 

“It really never occurs to you people that there is more to life than just money and material gain, does it? What if Seungkwan is happier living in a moneyless shithole with me than he ever was living with his parents and all the money in the world?”

 

“And has it really never occurred to you that your whole relationship with him is standing in the way of his future? I just don't see this working out and I'd like to see it come to an end sooner rather than later. Being with you is a distraction he doesn't need. It takes him longer to get to classes, he wants to spend time with you, he might have to get a job since his dad cut him off for being with you. He was going to take over his father's business in the future but that's out of the window which means that whatever he wants to do now he needs to do without his father's connections. In fact, he probably has to go _against_ his father in some ways. He can't afford to-”

 

“And what do you suggest? That I break up with him and then what? You don't expect him to go back to his parents do you?” Hansol felt his wall of defense go up. He was offended at the notion that he would just break up with Seungkwan for money, but Seungcheol was also pointing out everything that Hansol worried about and he didn't like to be reminded of the doubts he had in the back of his mind about his relationship with Seungkwan.

 

“Of course I don't. I'm just saying that living with you, being with you, is not in his best interest.”

 

“I don't know what to tell you, man. I don't want your money. You could offer me _all_ of your money and it wouldn't be enough.”

 

For a moment it was completely silent, the two of them just staring at each other. Hansol couldn't quite figure out if Seungcheol was about to get angry or something, but instead he sighed. “All right. I guess the fact you don't want my money is good in a way. At least you really do seem to love him.”

 

Hansol was hoping that this was the end of the conversation, but Seungcheol's doubts about their relationship remained. “Forget about money. Think about what's best for him. If you won't break up with him can't you at least tell him to move out? He'll move in with Soonyoung. He'll be a lot closer to campus, he won't be distracted at home, it's a much safer neighborhood.”

 

“You do realize he's a grown man, don't you?”

 

“Look, Seungkwan doesn't have the best record of making good decisions when it comes to certain things and I'm still not sure if you're just going to end up being a bad decision or not. You guys hid your relationship for months and now suddenly you're living together? And that's not the only thing I'm worried about. I know what your gang deals in.”

 

“You know shit.”

 

“I've been to enough parties and clubs in this town to know where most of the drugs that go around come from. I don't need you giving that shit to Seungkwan or getting him involved.”

 

“Look, I don't do that anymore, okay.”

 

“Maybe _you_ don't but some of your buddies do.”

 

“If they are it has nothing to do with Seungkwan.”

 

“I just want to make sure it stays that way.”

 

“You know what S.Coups? I know you don't like me and you think I'm useless and have nothing to offer to Seungkwan, but I love him and he loves me and I think that makes us both happy so how about you stop bothering me and spend some more time thinking about if _you're_ a friend that Seungkwan needs.”

 

Again the room went quiet for a moment. Again Seungcheol caved and sighed. “Fine. We'll end this conversation here for now. I guess I'll see you at the club in a few hours.” He was about to turn around and leave when Hansol spoke up.

 

“Hey, wait. What did you mean when you said Seungkwan doesn't make good decisions?”

 

Seungcheol looked him in the eye like he was contemplating whether or not he should answer. But he didn't answer. He just turned around and opened the door. “See you later.” was the last thing he said, leaving Hansol with an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach.

 

<>

 

That night they all arrived at the W-8 club together. The Carrot gang had first refused to go in Seungcheol's gigantic luxurious car that came with a driver, because their style was more _arriving in a way that makes people think 'when the fuck did those guys even show up!?'_ according to Jun. But Soonyoung had pointed out that the whole point was to show up as one group to mess with the heads of the Daebak gang.

 

Their arrival certainly made quite a number of heads turn, but if it did anything to impress any of the DaeBak members they didn't show it. Jeonghan, for one, was quick to greet them at the entrance with his usual charming and flirty personality.

 

“Good evening, welcome to W-8.” He spoke, mostly focused on Seungcheol who was at the front of the group making him look like the leader or something. He took a moment to look them all over, not missing how Mingyu quickly averted his gaze with a scowl. Jeonghan, however, fixed his eyes back on Seungcheol. “Am I correct to assume you'll be wanting a private booth?”

 

“I don't think the booth you gave us last time will do. We have a larger group this time. As you can see.” Seungcheol replied while staring right back at him.

 

“Oh honey, a few more men at the same time doesn't bother me at all.” Jeonghan replied with a wink and Seungcheol pretended to be unfazed. “I was just thinking about where to seat you guys. We have our number one deluxe booth of course. Plenty of room for all of you, but it might be a bit more...” he paused and looked around the group again, “...deluxe than what some members of your party are used to.”

 

Jisoo took a step forward so he was next to Seungcheol and locked eyes with Jeonghan. “Deluxe booth sounds perfect.”

 

A small smirk appeared on Jeonghan's face and he gave Jisoo a small nod. “Very well, right this way then.”

 

He lead them to a large booth that was slightly elevated and had a nice view of the dance floor. Before sitting down Seungcheol handed Jeonghan his credit card.

 

“Will this be for the whole group?” Jeonghan inquired.

 

“Yeah. Tonight's on me. Start by bringing us some champagne. And make it a good one.”

 

Jeonghan gave him a courteous nod and walked away.

 

“Feeling generous there Cheol? Or is it your alpha male instincts kicking in, wanting to show off?” Soonyoung asked with a smirk. He knew Seungcheol was really bad at flirting usually but he was pretty sure he was trying to impress someone. He just wasn't sure yet if it was Jisoo or Jeonghan. Maybe both.

 

“I don't know what you're talking about. I just had a financial break today. Thought I was going to spend a lot of money, but turned out it was unnecessary.” He briefly crossed eyes with Hansol. “So why not treat my friends to some fancy booze?”

 

“Oh, we're friends already?” Jisoo said with a smile and a light touch of his hand on Seungcheol's arm as they sat down next to each other. Suddenly Seungcheol was aware of just how close Jisoo was.

 

“Eh, well. Sort of, I guess.”

 

Even though the two groups were already more comfortable around each other than last time there was still a clear awkward tension hanging around, but with the arrival of the first round of alcohol the night could begin.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Yes I know it's been forever >.<  
> -I have a short break from work starting the 27th so I hope to write some more then!!  
> -I was originally going to include the stuff that's about to go down at the club too but it's taking me forever so I just decided to go ahead and post this so you guys know I'm still alive and haven't forgotten about this story!  
> -please feel free to leave me a comment so I know I haven't lost all of my readers lol
> 
> -Not fic related but omg Boo Seungkwan (hereafter know as Bloo Seungkwan) has BLUE HAIR


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The night at the club continues. There are some tense situations and some serious talks to be had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't get the inspiration I was hoping for during my short holiday, but at least it didn't take as long to write as it did last time! Plus, I got a wave of inspiration for the following part so I think it won't take as long (hopefully!)

Jeonghan placed the last drink of the order on the tray as he looked over at the table he had been keeping a close watch on all night. He had gone up to Jihoon the moment he had brought them their first round of drinks to inform him of their guests. He had instructed him and the rest of the Daebak gang to keep an eye on them and report back to him. So far nothing had happened really, besides all of them getting progressively less sober. Jeonghan picked up the tray and walked over to Minghao, who was glaring in the same direction.

 

“Here, take this tray up to their table will you.”

 

Minghao looked at him and scoffed, “I'm not a server.”

 

“I know, but I'm absolutely swamped and all you've been doing all night is stare at them anyway. Besides, I'm pretty sure Mingyu doesn't want to see me. I wasn't very nice to him the last time we met. I'm sure he'll be much happier seeing your pretty face. So...” he shoved the tray in the other man's hands, “...be a dear and bring this to their table.”

 

Minghao sighed, “Fine.”

 

“Oh and be nice, Hao.”

 

<>

 

“Come on Hansol, let's go dancing!”

 

Hansol smiled at his boyfriend but shook his head, “Not tonight, babe. I'm not ready for you to see my dance moves.”

 

When asking again and pouting didn't work Seungkwan stood up, somewhat unsteady, “Fine! I'll just go dancing by myself.” Apparently by himself meant with people that weren't Hansol because he grabbed the closest other person and dragged them along. It happened to be Seungcheol who effectively dragged Jisoo along with them because the two of them had been getting closer and closer all night and by this time Jisoo was half-wrapped around Seungcheol's body.

 

“Wait up guys,” Mingyu said as he also got ready to stand up, “I want to dance too!” As he stood up and turned around he almost bumped right into Minghao who was holding a tray of drinks. Luckily Minghao wasn't drunk and had fast reflexes and so was able to skillfully place the tray of drinks on the table instead of splattered on the floor.

 

“Wooow, nice moves there, dude!” A drunken Soonyoung yelled from across the table. Minghao gave him a look that was filled with disdain, “Don't call me _dude_.”

 

He was too busy staring down the people at the table that he didn't notice that he was still blocking Mingyu's path to the dance floor. Mingyu, being a bit drunk and a bit clumsy, tried to make his way passed him, but instead tripped over his own feet and fell forward. On reflex Minghao reached out an arm to prevent the tall, beautiful (beautiful? Minghao didn't think he was beautiful, what are you talking about?), man from falling to the floor. He found himself vividly aware of the heat coming from Mingyu's body and the smell of his cologne. As soon as he realized it and caught himself thinking that it smelled nice he pulled back his arm and let Mingyu fall to the floor.

 

Soonyoung was laughing his ass of seeing his friend trying to crawl back up, but Chan stood up and got in Minghao's face. “You gonna help him up?”

 

“Your friend here tripped over his own stupidity. That's not my responsibility. I suggest you sit back down before I break a knee or two.”

 

For a moment the situation got tense. Jeonghan, who had been looking from across the room, almost made a move to go over there to defuse the situation but it wasn't necessary. Mingyu, blissfully unaware of what was happening, was still getting his drunken self off of the floor. Looking for something to hold on to so he could pull himself up he grabbed the closest thing, Minghao. He managed to get himself upright and with one hand on Minghao's shoulder he chuckled, not noticing how tense the other man had gotten.

 

“G-get off me, you freak!” Minghao returned to his senses. He slapped Mingyu's hand away and stormed off. He walked over to the bar and shot a dirty look to Jeonghan who had a grin on his face. “What are you looking at? I thought you were busy?”

 

<>

 

Things had calmed down again. Mingyu had made his way onto the dance floor and Hansol looked at him and Seungkwan dancing like idiots. He had refused to go dancing for two reasons. One of them being that he wasn't sure how comfortable Seungkwan would really be dancing together so openly in a club. If he was going to dance with his boyfriend he wasn't going to keep a respectable distance. He wanted to hold him and get close to him, he wanted to _dance_ with Seungkwan like some of the straight couples were doing. But the second and main reason was that Hansol had noticed that Soonyoung was a talkative drunk and he planned to find out a bit more about the Seungkwan from before they got together. He scooted over so he was closer to him (and a bit further away from the others still at the table, although Chan and Jun seemed to be pretty engaged in their own conversation).

 

“Hey, Hoshi?”

 

“Duuude, you can call me Soon. Not on my phone though, I'm not hitting on you.” Lucky for Hansol Soonyoung seemed to be in a good mood because he sure thought his own joke was funny judging by the way he was laughing right now.

 

“O...kay. Soon. Ehm, can I ask you something? Today Seungcheol told me that Seungkwan doesn't have the best record of making good decisions. What do you think he meant by that?”

 

Soonyoung shrugged, “He could have meant many things to be honest. Seungkwan comes across like he's got it all together and shit, but honestly he's a bit of a mess sometimes.”

 

“Like how?”

 

“Like...how he tried to convince himself that a dude who was clearly only into him for the money and the sex really liked him or thinking that taking Adderall was a good way to get through high school and the first year of college.”

 

“Wait what?”

 

“Yeah no that dude was the worst. He made Seungkwan buy him expensive shit and take him to expensive places only to dump him right after he finally got him to have sex with him. Seungcheol punched the guy in the face the next day and somehow got _him_ expelled for fighting. That was awesome.”

 

Seungkwan had never talked about his past relationships with Hansol. It's not that he had assumed he was Seungkwan's first, but it was hard for him to imagine Seungkwan with anyone else. But right now he was more interested in the other piece of information Soonyoung had let slip.

 

“What was that about the drugs you mentioned?”

 

“Well, during like the last year of high school we found out Seungkwan was taking Adderall, you know the drugs that give you energy and focus and shit, so he could keep up with all his work. It got a little out of hand. We thought we got him clean during the summer but after a few weeks in college it started happening again. He's been off it for a while now though.”

 

Hansol was startled when Soonyoung suddenly grabbed him by the shoulders, “Don't tell him I told you this! I didn't mean to tell you all this, I'm just super wasted right now. Please, I don't want him mad at me again!”

 

“Okay, okay relax. I won't tell him you told me.” Soonyoung threw himself at Hansol in a weird hug type of bodily contact and Hansol awkwardly patted his back not sure what to make of the situation. For a moment he was afraid Soonyoung would fall asleep on top of him, but the hug ended as abruptly as it had started. Soonyoung stood up and looked around in confusion, “Where is the bathroom in this place? It's like a freaking maze!”

 

After Hansol had pointed in the direction of the very obvious _restroom_ sign right across from them and Soonyoung had walked away he turned his attention to the dance floor again. Jisoo and Seungcheol seemed to get along quite well seeing as they were dancing awfully close to each other. Seungkwan was still happily dancing around with Mingyu. Hansol couldn't help but smile and thought of joining them when he saw a man tapping Seungkwan on the shoulder. The man gestured between him and Mingyu and Seungkwan immediately started shaking his head. Hansol was too far away to hear what they were saying or too clearly see their faces. It looked like the other man was smiling. Seungkwan smiled back but gave the man an apologetic nod and turned away from him, back to Mingyu. The man didn't leave, instead he got closer to Seungkwan. The moment he placed a hand on his boyfriend's lower back and leaned in Hansol shot up from his seat. He kept his eyes on the dance floor but he knew Jun and Chan were right behind him. Seungkwan tried to shrug the man off but it wasn't working. Just as the man moved his hand lower to grab Seungkwan's ass Hansol got close enough to grab him and pull him off.

 

“Wow, what gives man, who the fu-” He was not allowed to finish talking as he was interrupted by Hansol's fist in his face. The man fell back. By this time the rest of their group had joined them, most of them unaware of the situation.

 

“What's going on?” Seungcheol asked.

 

“He was harassing Seungkwan!” Hansol yelled.

 

“Fuck man, I wasn't harassing anyone!” The man, still on the floor wiping blood from the corner of his mouth, yelled back.

 

Seungcheol exchanged a look with Seungkwan after which he approached the man. “Get up.”

 

The man did so and found eight pairs of eyes staring at him. “L-look I wasn't harassing him. I just thought he was someone I knew, but I was wrong, okay?” He stopped talking when Seungcheol raised his hand. Without looking away Seungcheol said, “Seungkwan?”

 

“He asked me to dance and I said no thank you.”

 

“No, thank you.” Seungcheol repeated calmly, getting a bit closer to the man. “And what did you do?”

 

“I didn't ask him to dance! Why would I ask another man to dance? This isn't some gay club!”

 

“Seungkwan?”

 

“He approached me from behind when I turned my back to him and he put his hands on me.”

 

“No I didn't! He's lying! Fucking fag!”

 

“Careful now. You put your hands on my friend and now you're also calling him a liar. Not to mention you dropping the f-word and I'm not talking about fuck. I think we're going to have to have a little talk about proper manners. Outside.”

 

The man desperately tried to lay a punch on Seungcheol, but he easily got out of the way. This time it was Soonyoung who punched the man. Before he could fall down again Seungcheol grabbed his arm with a tight grip.

 

Jeonghan, always watching, finally gestured to the others to intervene. He had wanted to see how this would play out but he knew better than to let a fight escalate any further inside the club.

 

<>

 

Jihoon stared at the four men standing across from him in his office. Scoups and Hoshi from the Rubies, Vernon from the Carrot gang and a man he had never seen before. “That's quite a scene you were making down there. Care to explain to me why you're making trouble in my club?”

 

“Not really.” Soonyoung replied.

 

Annoyance. Jihoon felt nothing but annoyance when he looked at his face. He took a deep breath. As he was thinking about what he was going to do to them the door opened and Jeonghan entered. He walked over and whispered something in his ear. Jihoon nodded and gestured to Minghao by the door to step aside.

 

“You three,” he pointed at the two Rubies and Hansol, “get out of here. I suggest you don't come here again.”

 

Soonyoung scoffed as he started to walk away, “Like we want to come back here where people get drugged or harassed.”

 

“What did you say?” Jihoon asked with venom in his voice.

 

Soonyoung turned back to face him, “I said you run a shitty place. Don't know why we came here again in the first place. You can't even keep your own people safe.”

 

Maybe it was his imagination but Jihoon could swear that as he said it his eyes quickly darted over to Jeonghan standing behind him. He took a few steps in Soonyoung's direction and stared him straight in the eyes, “Are you threatening me?”

 

Soonyoung stared right back, “No need to make threats about things that already happened.”

 

“You better watch your back, rich boy. If I see you or any of your pathetic friends anywhere near this place I'll send The8 as a welcoming party. He's been dying to break some kneecaps.”

 

Seungcheol placed a hand on his friend's shoulder, “Come on. Let's get out of this shithole.”

 

<>

 

“Tonight didn't really go as expected, did it?”

 

Hansol and Seungkwan were back at their apartment after having been dropped off by the car Seungcheol had arranged.

 

Seungkwan shrugged, “I wasn't sure what to expect of this night anyway.”

 

Hansol sat down on one of the chairs and reached out his hand to Seungkwan so he would join him. Seungkwan sat down on his boyfriend's lap and took the hand he had punched the guy with in his own. 'Is your hand okay?” He stroked it softly with his thumb.

 

“Yeah, it's fine. Not the first time I punched someone.” He reached up and cupped Seungkwan's cheek. “Are you okay, too?”

 

Seungkwan nodded and leaned in for a quick kiss. “It's kinda weird how Woozi just let you guys go though. Why did he even have you in his office to begin with?”

 

“I dunno. That one pretty guy, Jeong-something came in and whispered in his ear and then he told us to get out. He didn't let that guy who harassed you go though.”

 

“He came to talk to me...”

 

“Who did?”

 

“Jeonghan. He took me to a quiet place and asked me what happened.”

 

“What!? You went with him by yourself?”

 

“Please, I'm not stupid. Mingyu and Jisoo were there too.”

 

“Oh. Good. So, what did you tell him?”

 

“I told him what happened. When the guy first approached me he started by asking if me and Mingyu were together. I was a bit scared at first because I thought it might be some anti-gay shit, but he quickly explained he just wanted to ask me to dance with him. I politely turned him down, but when I turned away from him he suddenly came super close and started whispering crazy things in my ear and-”

 

“What kind of things?”

 

“How he...how he liked my moves and he wanted to fuck me in the bathroom.”

 

“Wow, that escalated quickly. Damn, now I regret not punching him more.”

 

“Jisoo also told him about the fight and how he called me a fag. Anyway, after that Jeonghan apologized that this happened at their club, but that we had to leave and not come back.”

 

Hansol hugged Seungkwan to his chest, “Sorry I didn't go dancing with you.”

 

They sat there in silence until Seungkwan sat up straight, “Okay, well, time for bed.”

 

Hansol checked the clock on the microwave, “It's not that late, do you want to stay up and watch a movie or something?”

 

“No, I'd better get some sleep. I have to get up in a few hours.”

 

“What? Why? It's Sunday, you don't have any classes or anything.”

 

“No, but I have to go to work.”

 

“Work? What are you talking about?”

 

“Oh, right! I haven't told you yet. It's perfect Hansol! I was walking home from the grocery store and I went by that bakery, you know. The place is run by this old lady, right? Normally we don't talk past a polite greeting, but she must have noticed me being around the neighborhood more because she asked me if I moved here. Anyway, we got to talking and it turns out she's been having a really hard time running the place. Her children don't live in the city anymore and her husband passed away some time ago. So I'm going to help her out.”

 

“Why?” Hansol didn't mean for it to come out as harsh as it did.

 

“What do you mean _why_?” Seungkwan got up from Hansol's lap and looked down at him. “She needs help and I needed a part-time job anyway. It's perfect.”

 

“You don't need to get a job.” Hansol also stood up to be at eye-level with him.

 

“Of course I do! I don't expect to live here for free and-”

 

“I could pay the rent before you moved in so I can pay it now.”

 

“It's not just rent! We use more groceries together, more utilities, and, no offense, but you could use some new clothes. We could use some extra money. I honestly don't see what the problem is, Hansol!”

 

“What about your classes and other stuff?”

 

“I'll manage. She mostly needs help on the weekend, mornings, and at the end of the day. She said it's totally fine to just work when it fits my schedule best. So-”

 

“What if you get so busy that you'll-”

 

“That I what?”

 

“...get super stressed out and shit like that.”

 

“Honey, I'm super stressed out most of the time anyway. Not contributing financially has me more stressed out than that little job will.”

 

“I think it's a stupid idea.”

 

“Oh yeah!? Dammit, Hansol! I was feeling really good about this! Why are you being so negative? If we're going to live together we need to share the financial load as well as the household chores and stuff. That's just how it is. I'm sorry if you thought you brought home a rich boy with a lot of money who doesn't need to work, but-”

 

“Don't twist my words, Seungkwan! I'm just worried about you!”

 

“Well, don't be. I can handle it! I'm not going to live here and be a mooch!”

 

“Maybe you shouldn't live here.”

 

Seungkwan immediately went quiet. “W-what?” He asked with a small voice, “You...you don't want me living here anymore?”

 

“No, that's not what I mean. Not really. It's just...we moved so fast and...I don't know. It's not that I don't like living with you, really it's not, but...I'm just not sure if it's for the best for us right now.”

 

“Oh...”

 

Hansol sighed and ran his hand through his hair, “Look, just forget it for now okay. Let's just go to bed, you'll go to the bakery tomorrow and we'll just see how it goes, okay?”

 

He walked closer to Seungkwan who was fighting back tears and lifted his chin. “Okay?” He pecked his cheek.

 

<>

 

Jihoon was pissed off to say the least. “If those fuckers ever show up here again, either in a group or by themselves or whatever, don't let them in. If they give you any trouble, Hao, feel free to do whatever you see fit in the situation.”

 

“Now, now, just sit down and relax. How about some tea?” Jeonghan pushed Jihoon down onto his chair. “Seokmin, be a dear and go make some tea for our stressed out leader.”

 

“Especially that Hoshi guy.” Jihoon continued his rant, “He really rubs me the wrong way.”

 

“If you hate them so much why did you just let them go?” Wonwoo asked from the couch.

 

“Because judging by what happened they weren't in the wrong. That and those asshats already shut clubs down in the past using their money and connections. But still, I regret it now. You heard what he said, right!? About people getting drugged in here and me not being able to take care of my own. That fucker knew something!”

 

Jeonghan placed his hands on Jihoon's shoulders from behind and started massaging him, “Shhh, it's okay. They're not worth you getting so worked up over.”

 

By the time the door opened and Minghao entered Jihoon looked and felt a lot more relaxed. “You done?” he asked Minghao.

 

“Yeah, we had a nice chat about how one shouldn't sexually harass others and then call them names. Not sure if he heard me over the sound of his bones breaking though.” He sat down on the couch next to Wonwoo. “What about the Rubies and Carrots? You want me to pay them a visit?”

 

Jihoon shook his head, “Nah, we'll leave them be. For now.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Jeonghan is just watching everyone all the time, lol  
> -Do you think Seungkwan and Hansol will work it out or will Seungkwan move out?? Also, don't do drugs kids!  
> -Part of me wanted to have Soonyoung pass out drunk on the toilet, but a bigger part of me wanted him to punch that guy and have a run in with Jihoon  
> -When will Jisoo and Seungcheol stop their obvious flirting and do something about it??  
> -Poor Minghao is so confused and conflicted about his feelings for Mingyu, why does he even have these feelings? Have they actually ever even talked before?? XD
> 
> Side note: Who is excited for the comeback!!?? D:


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jisoo has an unexpected customer at work. Hansol and Seungkwan talk. Soonyoung can't catch a break.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, not as long a wait as the last time!  
> Thank you to all the readers of this story! I hope you enjoy this chapter~

“Good afternoon, how can I help-” Jisoo stopped his usual greeting when he saw who the customer was. “Oh, ehm, hey. What would you like?”

 

“Can I get a caramel latte?” Seungcheol answered.

 

“Of course, coming right up.” Jisoo smiled at him and he caught himself thinking that he somehow thought it was adorable that this intimidating guy drank caramel lattes. “Oh, I forgot to ask you if you want to drink it here or to go?”

 

“That depends. Do you have some time? I need to talk to you about something.”

 

“Ehm, sure I guess.” Jisoo had no idea what he could possibly want to talk with him about. Sure they had a good time at the club the other night (before the whole fighting incident), but they had rarely even spoken to each other besides that. However, there was probably no harm in hearing him out about whatever it was that he wanted to talk about. “Can it wait though? I get off in like 20 minutes.”

 

“I'll drink my coffee here then.”

 

A good thirty minutes later Jisoo walked over to the table Seungcheol was sitting at. “Sorry to keep you waiting. Is it okay if we walk around and talk instead of staying here? I don't really like hanging out here if I'm not getting paid for it.”

 

Seungcheol got up from the table and nodded, “Sure.”

 

“Do you want a piece of carrot cake? I was supposed to throw these away, but they're still fine. It seems like such a waste all the food we throw away. I'm not actually sure if I'm officially allowed to take them, but no-one told me I wasn't and I didn't ask, so...” He held out a small paper bag with cake inside of it and offered it to Seungcheol, but he didn't move to take it from him.

 

“No, thanks.” Was all the reply Jisoo got and he wondered where the charming man from the club had gone to. At that time they had talked, laughed, danced, flirted. Or perhaps that last one had been Jisoo's imagination fueled by alcohol. Now they were just walking in an awkward silence while Jisoo munched on his carrot cake. “So, ehm...what's up? You had something to talk to me about?” He turned his head to look at Seungcheol who was walking half a step behind him and found that his eyes were already on him.

 

When their eyes met Seungcheol's head made a weird jerk movement as if he was just woken up from a dream or deep thought. He quickly regained his posture, however, and finally started talking, “Yeah. First of all, sorry for showing up like that, but I thought it would be weird if I just sent you a message suddenly since you never actually gave me your number. I only have it from the group chat...”

 

“Weirder than you suddenly showing up at my workplace?” His voice was serious, but his eyes were smiling. Something that Seungcheol didn't pick up on as he looked like he was about to have a breakdown trying to explain why it wasn't weird that he just showed up. Jisoo chuckled, “I'm joking. Relax.” Jisoo slowed down so he was no longer walking ahead of him, “How do you know where I work anyway?”

 

“You told me. When we were at W-8. Don't you remember?”

 

Jisoo cocked his head to the side and thought for a moment, “Vaguely. I guess the alcohol and other events of the night overshadowed the rest a bit.”

 

“Well, you told me. You told me you got a job since you suddenly had all this free time and you didn't want to tell your parents you got expelled yet. You seemed seriously bummed about it so I fixed it.”

 

“Oh I see...wait, what!?” Jisoo stopped in his tracks and stared at him. “What do you mean you _fixed it_?”

 

“Your expulsion. You're no longer expelled. You should be getting an e-mail about it today actually and-”

 

“You just 'fixed it'? Just like that?”

 

Seungcheol didn't understand why Jisoo was getting mad. “Yeah, I mean, my old man is friends with some of the top people of the university and he's an alumni who donates a lot of money, so he has some strings to pull.” he explained. This didn't seem to be enough for Jisoo, however.

 

“Did he also have strings that pull the other way?”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“I mean, and I hope you don't take this the wrong way, did you or your father also have a hand in getting me expelled in the first place?”

 

“Didn't Seungkwan already tell you that none of us had anything to do with it?”

 

“You can't really blame me for asking, can you? If it's so easy for you to fix something like this...”

 

“Could I have gotten you or anyone else expelled if I had wanted to? Probably, yes. Did I? No.”

 

“But you did go and got me un-expelled?”

 

Seungcheol looked away, not sure what to make of the other's reaction. He wasn't even sure what kind of reaction he had expected or wanted. “Look, it's no big deal okay? I just wanted to let you know. You'll probably have to do some extra work for the time you missed, but-”

 

“It is to me.” Jisoo interrupted him and Seungcheol turned to look at him, “It's a big deal to me. Even if it's not to you, why would you do this for me? We barely know each other.”

 

'I dunno...” And he really didn't. There was just something about Jisoo that made Seungcheol want to give him anything that he wanted.

 

“Well...I guess all I can say is thank you. So...thank you. Really.”

 

“You're welcome.” Seungcheol mumbled back.

 

Jisoo laughed at the tense air now hanging between them, he hooked his arm in Seungcheol's and started walking again, “Well, I hope you aren't expecting anything in return because I have nothing to give.”

 

“I didn't do it to get anything from you. I just wanted to-” He was cut off by Jisoo's lips suddenly on his own. Jisoo pulled back and had a shy smile on his face.

 

“A thank you kiss.” Looking at Seungcheol's flustered face he unhooked their arms, “Sorry, I probably should have asked first before just kissing you. I'm sorry.”

 

Seungcheol slowly swallowed, “No, uhm...that's okay...bro.”

 

After a few moments of silence Jisoo smiled again, “I should probably get going...”

 

Seungcheol nodded, not looking at him, “Yeah, me too. Ehm, be sure to check your e-mail.”

 

“I will. Thanks again, Seungcheol. It really means a lot.” He made a move to hug him but decided against it, not wanting to make the situation more awkward than it already was.

 

After another nod exchange they each went their separate ways. Jisoo sighed. This day was just full of twists and turns.

 

A few hundred meters away Seungcheol was sitting in his car. Head resting on the steering wheel, feeling like an idiot.

 

<>

 

As had been his routine since getting his job at the coffee place he went to the Carrot hangout. Most of the time at least one of the others would be there too, but it was unusual to find all three of them there at the same time lately. It was a good thing they were all there this day, however, so he could fill them in on what had happened. He hung up his coat and sat down on the couch next to Jun. “Don't you guys have other things to do than hang out here all the time?” he asked, not being too serious.

 

“Yeah,” Jun said, “But we already did our other things.”

 

“Aren't you late?” Chan asked.

 

“Yeah...I, eh, sort of ran into Seungcheol.”

 

“Oh yeah?”

 

“Yeah...or more...he came over to my workplace to talk to me.”

 

“Seriously!?” Hansol exclaimed, “What's up with that guy coming to people's workplaces and wanting to talk?”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Nothing.” Hansol remembered he hadn't discussed Seungcheol offering him money to break up with Seungkwan, “It's just weird, that's all. What did he want?”

 

“He got me back into uni.”

 

“For real!?” Jun yelled.

 

Jisoo nodded, “Yeah, I got an official e-mail from the dean's office telling me to come by on Monday to be officially reinstated as a student and to discuss how I can make up for missed classes.”

 

“How did he do that?” Hansol asked.

 

“More importantly, _why_ did he do that?” Chan asked before Jisoo could answer.

 

“Probably because he's like, in love with him or something.” Jun said and Chan thought that was, indeed, a good possibility.

 

Jisoo sighed, “I'm not exactly sure why he did it, but I think you're a bit off on the love part there, Jun.”

 

“I dunno, man.” Hansol said, “You two seemed to be really getting along at the club the other night and I honestly hope that it's something like that because I don't want to know what kind of other reason he might have.”

 

“...I kissed him.” Jisoo added.

 

“What!? Nooo.” Chan groaned, “Is this a thing now? Are all of you going to hook up with Ruby people?”

 

“I kissed him and he called me bro.” Jisoo continued, ignoring Chan.

 

“Ouch...” Chan said.

 

“Yeah...”

 

It was silent for a bit until Jun patted him on the shoulder, “But you can go back to university though! That's awesome!”

 

“It really is! I have my suspicions about all of those Rubies still, but...” Chan got up from his seat, “...this calls for a celebration! Who wants to open up an overpriced bottle of alcohol that we didn't pay for?”

 

Hansol also got up, “Jisoo, I'm really happy for you, but I gotta go. Seungkwan will be home soon.”

 

“So?” Chan asked, “Just tell him to come here.”

 

“Nah, he's busy and I just want to be with him at home.”

 

Chan clicked his tongue and made a whipping sound to the amusement of Jisoo and Jun.

 

“I'm not whipped! I just want to see my boyfriend who I've barely spoken to in days!” Hansol retorted.

 

“You guys still fighting?” Jisoo asked.

 

“We're not fighting...we're just...on low communication.”

 

Jisoo smiled and nodded, “Oh, I see.” But as soon as Hansol's back was turned he mouthed _they're fighting_ to the other two.

 

<>

 

It was true that there had been tension in the apartment ever since Hansol had said that maybe Seungkwan shouldn't live with him anymore, but it wasn't like they were fighting per se. It was more that neither of them wanted to broach the subject again, afraid of what the outcome might be.

 

Hansol opened the door and found Seungkwan in the kitchen cutting up some vegetables. “Oh, you're home already? Sorry, I was with the guys and-”

 

“You don't have to apologize. It's not like you have a curfew or anything.” Seungkwan's reply was curt and Hansol knew that if everything was okay between them he would be whining at him for being late and making him cook dinner by himself.

 

“Can I help making dinner?”

 

“It's okay.”

 

“No, tell me what to do. You don't have to make it by yourself.”

 

“Really, it's fine, Hansol. It's just boring vegetable soup, not exactly a two man job.”

 

“That doesn't mean it's not more fun if we make it together...” Hansol mumbled under his breath as he sat down at their small kitchen table. He listened to the sound of Seungkwan chopping vegetables and dropping them in a pot of water until he stopped. Seungkwan put down the knife and took a deep breath.

 

“Hansol?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

Seungkwan turned around and leaned against the counter, looking at his boyfriend. “I've been thinking a lot about what you said. About how maybe I shouldn't live here.”

 

“Seungkwan, I didn't mean-”

 

“Please let me talk, this isn't easy for me to say.” He took a breath and continued, “I've been thinking a lot and came to the conclusion that you might have been right. We moved in together so quickly and not because we had talked about it and decided that it was what we wanted, but because I had nowhere else to go. It would be a lot more practical if I just moved in with Soonyoung. I probably would have if we hadn't been fighting at the time.”

 

“Seungkwan...”

 

“I can come here on the weekends,” Seungkwan continued, “If that's okay.”

 

Hansol got up and walked over to him, he brushed a lock of Seungkwan's hair to the side.

 

“You know I never suggested you don't live here because I don't want you here, right? I was only trying to think about what is best for _you_.”

 

Seungkwan nodded.

 

Hansol didn't want him to live with Soonyoung. He didn't want to see him only on the weekends. He wanted to come home from work and have Seungkwan there. Or he wanted to be home before him so he could hear the front door opening and watch him walk through the door. He wanted to make dinner together or fight about whose turn it was to make dinner and then get take-out. He wanted to fall asleep next to him and feel him wrap around him during the night. He wanted to tell him to stay and that it'll work out somehow, but he bit his tongue because he knew it would be far easier for Seungkwan to concentrate on his education if he didn't have to worry about Hansol and his poor man problems.

 

Seungkwan, not being one to wait around after he decided to do something, moved most of his stuff over to Soonyoung's the next day. Hansol helped putting everything in the car. He closed the trunk and shoved his hands in his pockets. “I think that's it.”

 

Seungkwan forced a smile. “Thanks. I guess I'll get going then. You have to go to work, right?”

 

Hansol nodded.

 

“Oh...” Seungkwan took out his keys, “Do you want your key back or-”

 

“No, please keep it. You can use it when you can over or whenever you want.”

 

“Okay, thanks. So...see you Saturday?”

 

This time it was Hansol who forced a smile, “Yeah.” He leaned in and gave him a quick peck on the lips. “See you Saturday, Boo Seungkwan.”

 

<>

 

Soonyoung had been thrilled to have Seungkwan move in and Seungkwan had to admit that it was a lot of fun living together. But he missed Hansol. He wanted to go to him as soon as his last classes on Friday had finished, but he knew Hansol had to work the next morning so he focused on getting most of his assignments done before going there on Saturday afternoon. There was some awkwardness between them at first, but the first round of sex got rid of that and the rest of the weekend felt relaxing for the both of them. Overall the move was working out. It wasn't ideal, but their previous situation hadn't been either. Seungkwan felt a lot better mooching off of Soonyoung.

 

It had been a little over two weeks since Seungkwan had moved out when Hansol went to the Carrot hangout for their movie night and he was surprised to find his boyfriend there. He was sitting on the floor in front of the couch, talking to Jun and Chan. Jisoo didn't seem to be there.

 

“Seungkwan? What are you doing here? I thought you were busy with the school newspaper?”

 

Seungkwan turned his head to look at him and stared at him for a moment as if he wasn't sure what he was looking at before he smiled at him. “I was indeed.” he replied. “But I'm trying to be less of a control-freak about it and give myself a bit more flexibility by giving other people some responsibilities too. So when Jisoo offered to handle a few things I accepted. I never thought I'd say this, but I'm glad to have him back. So...I decided to come here because I knew you'd come here. Surprise!” He started laughing as if the word surprise was the funniest thing in the world. He looked up at his boyfriend's disgruntled face and started laughing even harder.

 

“Are you high?” Hansol asked with a stern voice. He had smelled the marihuana when he came in, but he had just assumed it was Jun or Chan.

 

“No...I'm sitting on the floor.”

 

Jun, also on the floor, spit out his drink and started snickering.“He's so funny, was he always this funny?”

 

“Aaah the floor.” Seungkwan laid down on his back and closed his eyes. He stuck his hand in the air and gestured for Hansol to come to him,“Hansollie” he said almost singing, “Come join me on the floor. It's super relaxing to lay down on this floor. It's like-”

 

“No!” He cut him off and turned his attention to his friends, “Dammit, I can't believe you guys got him high!”

 

“Don't make it sound like we forced him!” Chan replied, “He came here, despite what he says he was still super stressed out so I offered him a way to relax a bit. I think it's good for him. Look at him!”

 

“I _am_ looking and my boyfriend is lying on the floor like some sort of idiot!”

 

“Hansollie~”

 

“If you won't join him I will!” Jun said as he crawled over to Seungkwan and dropped down next to him, swinging one leg over his body.

 

“Seungkwan! Get off the floor.”

 

“I can't! Jun is on top of me!”

 

“Jun, get off Seungkwan!”

 

“Seungkwan...” Jun whispered, “Hansol is mad at us.” Seungkwan opened one eye and peeked at Hansol before he looked over at Jun. As soon as their eyes met they burst out laughing.

 

“Dude, what's your problem? Do I need to remind you of the countless times _you_ were high?” Chan, who seemed less affected by the weed, asked him.

 

“I...that's different!”

 

“Why? Honestly, your reaction to this is very unlike you.”

 

Hansol didn't say any more. He knew it was unlike him. Normally he'd probably find this situation funny, he'd probably agree with his friend that it wasn't a bad way for Seungkwan to relax at all and get high with them. But after what Soonyoung had told him he didn't like the idea of Seungkwan involved with any kind of drugs. At the same time, seeing Seungkwan on the floor, laughing like there was no tomorrow, made him feel like he was overreacting. Getting high was something he and his friends did quite regularly so who was he to tell Seungkwan he couldn't. He sat down on the couch and lightly kicked Seungkwan with his foot, “What's so funny, Boo Seungkwan?”

 

“Jun...” Seungkwan said between laughs, “He's whispering jokes in my ear. It's in Chinese so I have no idea what he says, but he's hilarious.”

 

“ _You're_ hilarious.” Jun said. “And so...huggable...I just want to...” He didn't finish saying what he wanted to, but apparently it was pulling Seungkwan on top of him and hugging him tight. Seungkwan couldn't stop laughing as Jun was swaying him from side to side. “Aaah, Hansol, I'm so jealous. I want a squish boyfriend to hug, too.”

 

“Hansol, help.” Seungkwan said, still laughing.

 

Hansol sighed and shook his head as he got up. He thought it was better to pull Seungkwan off before he threw up all over his friend.

 

“Aaaw, dude, why did you pull him off, now Jun will come for me!” Chan wasn't wrong as Jun was already rolling over the floor to get to him. Not that Chan put up much of a fight. He was used to Jun turning into an affection monster when high.

 

Seungkwan placed a sloppy kiss on Hansol's lips before he jumped up, “I'm so hungry, oh my god.”

 

Seungkwan went to the kitchen area, roaming for food. He opened the fridge and let out a scream. He triumphantly held up a bag of carrot-sticks, “What the fuck, who even has fucking carrot sticks! I can't even...carrot sticks.” He almost ran out of breath from laughing, but somehow made it to the couch where he started to eat the whole bag.

 

They had started to watch a movie and their highs were wearing off when Seungkwan's phone rang. He picked up after checking the caller ID and yelled happily at the person on the other end, “Mingyuuu!”

His face turned serious very quickly as he listened to Mingyu talking. “Okay, yeah, no of course. I'll be there as soon as I can.” He covered his mouth with his hand and whispered, “Is it okay if I bring Hansol? Okay see you soon.” He ended the call and turned his attention to his boyfriend, “Babe, I need to get home to Soonyoung. You can come too.”

 

Hansol scoffed, “You mean I _have_ to come because you can't drive right now.”

“Okay, that too, but come on let's go.”

 

“What's the sudden rush though? We're in the middle of the movie.”

 

“Please, I promised I'd get there asap.”

 

Hansol got up, “Fine. Sorry, guys.” He apologized to the other two.

 

“Can we come?” Chan asked.

 

“Ehm, sorry, it's just that-” Seungkwan started, but Chan was quick to cut him off, “Nevermind.”

 

“Sorry...”

 

“What about that whole 'let's become closer as a group' thing?” Jun wanted to know. “Does that only count if we're willing to hook up with one of you guys or something?”

 

“What? No, of course not, but-”

 

“But what?”

 

“Something happened and I think Soon wouldn't be comfortable with so many people there right now, okay?”

 

He wanted to explain further but Hansol took his hand, “It's okay. Let's go.”

 

<>

 

Hansol drove them in Seungkwan's car, leaving his bike over at the hangout.

 

“Are you going to tell _me_ what's going on or am I just driving you?”

 

Seungkwan sighed and started talking. “Soonyoung's father had an affair many years ago and he's the result of it. He was raised to believe his father's wife was his mother until he found out the truth. She never accepted him and was very cold to him. He has never met his real mother. Anyway, what's important right now is that this was always a secret. A large part of the community and investors, stockholders and what not are very conservative and a thing like this would be a huge scandal and could easily inflict some serious damage to their company and their reputation. But now a high profile magazine has somehow gotten hold of this information and printed a big story about it causing quite a stir as it seems.”

 

“Damn. How is he taking it?”

 

Seungkwan clicked his tongue, “Obviously I don't know that, Hansol, since I haven't spoken to him yet.”

 

“Sorry...I was just asking.”

 

“No, I'm sorry. It's just...it would be nice if we didn't have to deal with drama all the time. Especially him...about this...I can't be sure how he's taking it, but most likely not very well. Mingyu said he saw the magazine and rushed over there and found him playing pool by himself. Apparently he hasn't said much and Mingyu wanted me and Seungcheol to get there before trying to talk with him.”

 

Hansol pulled up in the driveway of the house and turned off the engine.

 

“We're here.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -No Daebak gang this chapter, they're busy...  
> -How are we feeling about Seungkwan moving out?  
> -I don't know what happened with high Seungkwan, but it was kinda fun to write so...whatever lol  
> -Should Seungkwan have allowed Jun and Chan to come too?
> 
> -I need sleep....srsly
> 
> Comments are, as always, very much appreciated <3
> 
>  
> 
> My thought of the day: Boo Seungkwan....why is he so cute!? His birthday Vlive...I...so cute (and all the Boogyu, lol)

**Author's Note:**

> eeeh I sort of forgot they were a biker gang? I just started writing and suddenly all kinds of shit started happening! 
> 
> Also, I had no idea what to call Joshua's gang and it became Carrot because....reasons.
> 
> Knowing me, this fic will go from serious/angsty to more lighthearted/fluff and back.   
> Let me know what you think! Or talk to me on twitter @Cow_Llama


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